I'm a PC user, but I also love Macs. I will always love both Macs and PCs but I will always USE PCs. So this is not an attacking article. I want my Mac using/loving friends out there to be safe.
I know that all my mac using friends out there are not really aware of the security flaws in their operating system. I've always known that macs were particularly vulnerable, which is why when I worked tech support for a college that will remain nameless, I insisted that they put their mac machines on a seperate network that had no real internet access. Viruses and malware for macs were nearly non-existant in those days, but there were a few legacy viruses still accessible, and they did have a couple of older macs in the lab.Unfortunately, especially thanks to those insipid Mac vs. PC ads, Mac users think that their computers are perfectly safe and thus won't download anti-virus software designed for the Mac. This is a horrible idea based on a fallacy, and I say shame on Apple. Shame on you Apple!
I'm not the only one that knows these things though. Please go to this article at ChannelWeb, it really impresses the absolute gravity of the situation. Read the top 10 myths about Mac security and please, please take whatever steps are available to you to protect yourself. Don't let your false sense of security lead to your system and personal information being compromised.
It's time to start thinking like a PC user. Viruses and malware for the Mac are on an exponential rise. Get with a PC friend and ask them what THEY do to protect themselves. Or ask me. I'm something of a security expert (self-proclaimed of course, it's why I own a BlackBerry Storm and not an iPhone).
I really just want you all to be safe, and you aren't.
Here are some relevant links: Keep in mind that Mac's anti-virus solutions are not as robust as PC ones and typically aren't supported as prolifically and rapidly (yet). If there are changes in the Mac virus world, as there will undoubtedly be, you won't have as quick a response as a PC user does. Just be extra careful about where you go and what you open.
I am LOATHE to suggest a Symantec product. They're buggy, supremely SUPREMELY invasive and they tend to take most of the control of your PC away from you while providing sub-par virus protection. But they're one of the few with a decent Mac AV software. They're better than McAfee by far, but nowhere near as good as some of the giants like Kaspersky. Kaspersky, as far as I can tell, doesn't have a Mac anti-virus yet. OR I just can't find it.
Norton for Macs
Here's a free one, but from what i've read, it doesn't do cross-platform viruses. Yes, you can catch certain viruses from your PC friends. They're nasty little buggers that adapt to the OS they're on.
PC Tools' iAntiVirus
Here's the most important truth about Mac malware/viruses. You don't have many because you were never the target before. As someone who knows the virus creator culture, there was never a point because there were so few Macs out there, why waste the time.
Macs have double digit market share for the first time since the 1980's. NOW there's a reason. NOW they're coming to get you. And they're doing it faster than Mac can keep up. Just please keep that in mind. It's not that you were ever immune. Mac has more security holes than there are pixels in the sky. It's just that they've never been exploited.
