Anti Virus for Imac

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by rollers, Feb 13, 2010.

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  1. rollers

    rollers Registered Member

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    I am not looking for an A v B thread but looking for some serious suggestions for an AV to use on my new imac when it arrives in a couple of weeks time.
    I have found lots of info on the mac forums about not running an AV at all, but as I will be doing my banking etc on it I would rather have something light on it as a kind of insurance policy.
    I don't seem to be able to find much available software for this need, and those that are available seem to have a rather hefty price tag on them.
    I will not be running windows on the mac, just mac software. I will leave Windows to my windows computer.
    Any suggestions?
     
  2. EliteKiller

    EliteKiller Registered Member

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  3. ALookingInView

    ALookingInView Registered Member

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    The problem with the PC Tool's offering is that it has a tendency to chew through your CPU from time to time for no apparent reason.

    The issue has been present for over a year now with no fix in sight.

    Check their forum before installing this one, trust me.

    I'd say check out Intego. It's ugly but it gets the job done and it doesn't focus much on Windows-based malware either.
     
  4. fax

    fax Registered Member

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    Had iantivirus on a MacBook and it worked perfectly.... it is really down to case-by-case, you need to try it to see if it works fine on your system.

    Fax
     
  5. rollers

    rollers Registered Member

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    Thanks for your answers so far guys.
    I will certainly look at the iantivirus forum............I like the price of that one too :D
    I would certainly like to run an antivirus on the mac, I know there are lots of conflicting reports here and there as to whether or not you need an AV on a mac, but I would rather be safe than sorry, especially as it only takes one occasion to have your bank account cleaned out.
     
  6. rollers

    rollers Registered Member

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    Just read through the thread on the iantivirus forum and there does indeed seem to be problems for many users, and still unresolved after over a year.

    Has anyone tried the Eset beta Mac av?
     
  7. fax

    fax Registered Member

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    Running KAV for MAC. Works fine altough heavier than iantivirus and not free.

    By the way, if you look to support forums you will end up not using a single product. LOL.
    If your application runs well then usually the last thing you do is to post it in a support forum ;)
     
  8. rollers

    rollers Registered Member

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    Lol, yes I think that is very true.
    What made you move from iantivirus to kaspersky if you don't mind me asking?
     
  9. fax

    fax Registered Member

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    Very good question... I had impression that the pctools software was dead both in terms of development and virus signature. But to be honest it was a very subjective choice. I feel safe with KAV, I was not with iantivirus. :)
     
  10. ALookingInView

    ALookingInView Registered Member

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    I tried the ESET beta.
    Worked just fine except for the fact you can't remove the dock icon if I remember right.
    That and it's geared to detect Windows and Linux malware as well so it's a little on the heavier side of things.

    Edited as to not engage in an A vs B.
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2010
  11. rollers

    rollers Registered Member

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    interesting that you found the Kaspersky one heavier.
    I have a licence for eset and was wondering what their mac version beta was like. I think I should post up on the Eset forum for that answer tho as eset users may not read on here.
    I am looking for something fairly light, and not extortionately expensive. virusbarrier looks good, but works out nearly £50 for a two user licence. I only want one licence. Who ever can afford two imacs? :D
     
  12. ALookingInView

    ALookingInView Registered Member

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    I felt the same way. Didn't make the most sense to me, though from what I understand their pricing system used to be even worse.
     
  13. Blueshoes

    Blueshoes Registered Member

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    Intego VirusBarrier X6 is the Gold Standard for Mac anti-malware Period! They just lowered pricing, 2 macs per personal and 5 macs per family pack. Intego just came out with a more advanced program with an advanced firewall and dropped Net barrier because it is now part of VB X6.

    iAntivirus is DEAD. Symantec bought it and a couple of weeks and you saw lack of support from the forum mod. and very few updates. They are not fixing nothing. DOA program.

    ClamXav only has 5 or so of the 13 Mac trojans in it's database. The Clam team could careless about Mac malware and they don't keep up with OS X malware. There was a Mac security guy who had to plead and beg to let him add definitions to the clam database. It may be better now, but I would guess only by a small percentage. Nothing even close to Intego. I keep ClamX for files from PC friends to check that I don't pass on common malware to others.

    Avast can't even find common Mac Trojans without forum user help. Less then a hobby for them. Still very early beta feel.

    There is Kaspersky, Eset and Bitdefender that I have not tested because Intego is the Gold Standard, so why move.
     
  14. rollers

    rollers Registered Member

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    Thanks for your answer Blueshoes, your info has certainly helped.
    The only other AV I have come accross is the Dr Web for Mac. Does anyone have any dealings with it, ie detection?
    Intego certainly is the field leader in Mac antivirus, and its good that their pricing policy has come down, but in comparison to everyone else, they are still expensive. In fact most of the Mac AV are expensive, which is kinda strange as they need to detect less but cost more.
     
  15. fax

    fax Registered Member

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    The law of the market. Far less demand as compared to PC (both due to less malware and less MACs) thus higher price to cover the cost of development. :)
     
  16. rollers

    rollers Registered Member

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    Darn! There was me thinking it was going to be more cost effective in the long run to own a Mac :D
     
  17. fax

    fax Registered Member

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    LOL... :D
    Btw, Intego Virus Barrier may be the best AV on the market but it is VERY expensive :eek:
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2010
  18. SweX

    SweX Registered Member

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    I also think Intego's AV might be the best.

    But I have seen a lot of complaints that the new Verison is using many more processes than the old version wich makes long time users of VB feel it have getting kind of bloated in the X6 version, since there where people that where using VB X5 along with Little Snitch, a firewall for the Mac)
    Wich they cannot do anymore since they have integrated Netbarrier into VB in the X6 version.

    And that's why I will no longer install VB once my Mac arrives, I go for the Eset Mac OS X Beta instead!
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2010
  19. ZenPirate

    ZenPirate Registered Member

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  20. Blueshoes

    Blueshoes Registered Member

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    You are not willing to pay $10 extra for the Gold Standard? That is totally illogical. Penny wise, dollar foolish. You get 2 license for the personal version of VB. I have 5 Macs so I buy bought the family pack.

    http://blog.intego.com/2010/01/15/virusbarrier-x6-the-lowest-priced-mac-antivirus/


    As for ClamXav, it is subpar. Plain and simple. No heuristics, no nothing. Next to nothing for OS X definitions. How are going to protect your Mac from a bad i-Frame redirect with ClamX? You are not.

    I know all about this, about a year and a half ago I was on Zyxel's site and VB warned me of a Unix Arc Bomb Trojan was downloading stealth. ( i-Frame redirect are my thoughts) It tried to repair it but could not. The heuristics caught it but the definitions would not clean it. Every 5 minutes I would get another payload file downloading out of the blue. VB caught it but could not repair it. I had a total of 5 payload downloads before I wiped the drive. I was POWNED on a Mac. I had a 1 week old clone so I wiped my drive and re imaged.

    After the second payload trying to get loaded, I emailed the Zyxel's webmaster with my logs and the web pages I was on before the Arc Bomb Trojan got me. This was on a Friday afternoon and 3 hours later Zyxels USA site was down till Monday morning 10am. Mac's can get owned. That is why you buy the best. I run Avira and PrevX and MS Security Essentials on the Windows 7 side on Bootcamp.

    As for bloated, you have to pay a price for security. I will live with a little more processor cycles to be safer. I run 3 programs on the Windows side to stay clean. It is no longer 2005 anymore. The pro's are after your keystrokes. Mac or PC


    .
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2010
  21. rollers

    rollers Registered Member

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    Unfortunately I live in rip off Britain. It is 49 dollars on the site link you gave me, but if I try to buy here it is 49 English pounds, which works out somewhere around 75 dollars.
    Don't worry, we get ripped off here all the time for software in just the same way.
    I agree it would be good value if I had two macs, but I shall only have one, and that makes it very expensive for me.
    Had I been able to buy a single licence for half the price I would have done so immediately, which would have been fair value.
     
  22. Blueshoes

    Blueshoes Registered Member

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    Then use one of the beta's Eset, Kaspersky that will have the longest free time left. Then download the installer for iAntivirus and save it if needed. It has 100 plus OS X definitions and will be better then clamX as a whole. I still would run ClamX on-demand here and there. I even run ClamX here and there. I have iAntivirus loaded but use it only as an on-demand scanner.
     
  23. SweX

    SweX Registered Member

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    Hi Blueshoes!

    I got a couple of questions for you.

    If you are currently using VB X6 on your Mac then do I wonder the following.

    Can you check how the Ram usage is?
    And how many processes the X6 version is running?

    Thanks, SweX
     
  24. rollers

    rollers Registered Member

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    Well, in the end I managed to find a better deal online from the UK and purchased the intego virusbarrier x6 after reading some good reviews about it.
    All I need now......................is for my imac to arrive:oops:
     
  25. SweX

    SweX Registered Member

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    Hmmm. I have actually been looking for reviews about the X6 version but haven't found any.

    Do you mind if I ask you to link to those reviews so I can read them?

    Thanks, SweX
     
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