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    Internet Security for Switcher/Dummies

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by surefire, Oct 16, 2008.

  1. surefire

    surefire Notebook Consultant

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    really?!

    no internet security whatsoever needed?
     
  2. sulkorp

    sulkorp Notebook Deity

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    Well, I'm guessing you wanna know if theres viruses and stuff for osx.

    Pretty much, the short answer is no.

    There are a few out there, but I don't think that they really get spread, and I've never heard of anyone actually getting one. As for spyware, there isn't any of that either.

    If you combine that with an adblocker in firefox or safari, you pretty much have a really good surfing experience, and computer usage. No ads, no spyware, no viruses, and in the year and a bit that i've had my mac, ive never got any crazy amount of popups either. Maybe its firefox, but yea, now that I think about it, its kinda weird that I havn't gotten them. Cause I remember on PCs if you go to a sketchy site youd have a ton of popups. Havn't really seen that, or maybe I just dont get to sketchty sites anymore.

    But yea, since I got my mac, I've never had to run an antivius, spyware check, I have a firewall so I can choose which programs get access to the internet, but thats just a personal choice. Hope that helps.
     
  3. ltcommander_data

    ltcommander_data Notebook Deity

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    In terms of firewall, OS X actually comes with 2 built-in. The standard one can control how individual programs access the internet. There is also a low-level firewall that can control individual ports, but Apple no longer provides a GUI interface to it. However, people have developed free GUI's to it such as NoobProof and WaterRoof. It is possible to use both firewalls together.
     
  4. Sam

    Sam Notebook Virtuoso

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    That is correct, there are currently no viruses targeting Mac OS X in the wild right now, so its perfectly safe to surf the net without antivirus. There are firewalls in OS X that you should turn on, there's really no reason not to!
     
  5. swarmer

    swarmer beep beep

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    I mostly agree, but... as far as I know, Mac users are just as vulnerable to phishing attacks as anyone else... not technically malware, but still a part of "internet security"... so you still want to be careful when clicking links to Paypal, or your bank, etc.... or better yet, type in those URLs yourself when you want to go to those sites.
     
  6. surefire

    surefire Notebook Consultant

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    thanx everyone