Do You Really Need A Virus Software For A Mac

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Your smartphone is a powerful computing device — with access to much of your most sensitive private information. Professional criminals are willing and able to invest heavily to steal that data from you.

Mar 14, 2017  Often you will hear claims that Macs don’t get viruses, and that there is no reason for antivirus protection software on the Mac platform. However with the increase in Macs on the market, and the increase in using peer-to-peer services, Macs are at a greater risk than they ever have been in the past. Only 50% of Mac users are running virus. Stopping a virus altogether involves searching your Mac pretty thoroughly to ensure all traces of the virus are gone. You should use malware-scanning software to help identify and eliminate viruses. Aug 16, 2017  Whenever antivirus software is mentioned, someone always seems to chime up and say they don’t need an antivirus because they’re “careful”, and “common sense is all you need”. This isn’t true. No matter how smart think you are, you can still benefit from an antivirus on Windows. Mac Malware Guide: Do I need anti-virus software? Published June 17th, 2012 at 8:38 PM EDT, modified July 15th, 2015 at 7:30 PM EDT. There is no simple yes or no answer to this question. The answer will depend on many factors, the biggest of which is your own opinion on security.

Do I Need Anti-Virus for My Mac? Macs have long been touted as being more secure than Windows PCs. That’s largely true and, historically, Mac users have gotten away with not needing antivirus.

Several trends have converged to raise cybersecurity threat levels. When computer viruses were first written, they were more difficult to distribute and spread more slowly. Internet connections were not ever-present, processors were relatively slow and virus creation wasn’t as common.

Today, malware is big business. A vibrant dark economy trades cyber tools and personal information and offers programmers for hire. Evidence suggests that over 350,000 new pieces of malware are generated every day, and mobile devices are an increasingly rich target.

Can a smartphone get a virus?

Like desktops and laptops, smartphones are susceptible to viruses, though many users have no idea.

The code currently plaguing smartphones and tablets has a lot more design variety than earlier viruses. In general, this malicious code is known as malware. AV-TEST breaks the problem into two categories: malicious programs (malware) and potentially unwanted applications (PUA). But for most users, this distinction is not as important as these programs’ aims.

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Mobile malware and the paths to infection are diverse, but here are a few examples:

  • Malware can be embedded in a website or a malicious Wi-Fi network that leaves behind code to redirect links to illicit sites or pretends to be a resource it’s not. Its aim is to convince you to enter your credentials, allowing cybercriminals to steal your information.
  • Adware can be embedded in apps that grab data from other parts of your phone. This information can lure you into trusting future emails or other communications. This false software is very hard to distinguish from legitimate software.
  • Application software can be added to your device through websites or other apps that run in the background, either stealing your information or simply using your computer power and network connection to process information, like mining cryptocurrencies or executing attacks on other web resources.
  • Downloading apps from unofficial sites can result in your apps being replaced by copycat apps carrying fraudulent ad-clicking software.

Permissions granted

Companies are spending significantly on training users to refrain from clicking on unknown links in emails or opening attachments. But even if users are making better choices on their PCs, they’re still more likely to initiate the exploit by errantly tapping on their smartphone, according to Verizon’s “2019 Data Breach Investigations Report.”

One of the best things about smart devices is that they can help you make better decisions because they know your current circumstances. They show directions based on your current location and suggest products and services based on a range of sensors and history. Unfortunately, users rarely question those pop-ups asking to grant permissions to their address book or share location information with an app.

What antivirus software is best?

You should start with a layered approach to protecting your hardware, software and systems and find solutions that are smarter than the criminals, according to CSO Online. Take a more serious approach to password management. Using sticky notes and a single password for everything can make you a target. It also means that old antivirus systems no longer serve their purpose.

When viruses were written less frequently and designed less diabolically, it was possible to stay protected by keeping your virus definitions and software up to date. But it can take days between the release of new malware and the time it takes to detect it, catalog it, add it to the antivirus protection and update your device. The WannaCry virus was distributed to over 100,000 devices within minutes, according to The Guardian. Traditional antivirus didn’t protect anyone from WannaCry.

You now need something that can protect you from code that lands on your device, without needing to update your device first. Modern antivirus doesn’t rely on matching code on the device to a list of bad code, sometimes referred to as a blocklist. Today’s protection uses machine learning (ML) to develop artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that recognize malicious code, and then quarantine it before it runs. Computers running an AI-based antivirus program were not infected or impacted in any way by WannaCry. Some reports suggest that current AI definitions of malware could protect computers and smartphones from malware that hasn’t even been written yet.

That means that if you loaded an AI-based antivirus program onto your device and didn’t initiate any updates for a year, the program would still catch a threat before it could cause any damage.

So, do I really need antivirus on my Android?

Do you want to be safe or sorry? The more defenses and locked doors that criminals have to overcome, the better. The consequences of not having this inexpensive and unobtrusive line of defense can be disastrous for both individuals and small businesses.

Google continues to add to their defenses, which are built into the Google Play Store. But with 2.7 million apps and counting, even a very small percentage of misses is enough to spell disaster for someone.

Samsung Knox provides another layer of protection, both for separating work and personal data and for protecting the operating system from manipulation. Combined with a modern antivirus solution, this can go a long way toward limiting the impact of expanding malware threats.

Learn more about securing the personal and work data on your mobile phone in this free white paper. And discover the most secure bioauthentication method.

The days of PCs being viewed as virus-ridden boxes of dismay are long gone. But that doesn't mean there aren't lots of terrible people out there creating malicious programs with the intent to steal something or just create havoc.

Some PC makers will preload antivirus software and try to coerce you into signing up for it because that's how they make money. But you shouldn't ever feel pressured, and you likely don't need whatever it is they're shilling.

But do you actually need antivirus software in 2020? Yes .. but ..

It's not only viruses you need to watch out for

The fact that we still refer to this type of software as 'antivirus' is out of date. No longer do we have to be worried only about nasty viruses infecting our computers and wiping out our personal data. Malware is perhaps more common today, with a different tactic to achieve a still-nefarious goal.

The worst part is that the 'best' malware — if you can really even call it that — will quietly sneak onto your PC without you knowing. It'll maybe lie dormant, hidden from view, but all the while, it will also do something you don't want it to.

Whatever the term for it, the threats out there are still very real.

You have protection in Windows 10

Microsoft takes your security and safety in this permanently-online world very seriously, and it built some very important tools into Windows 10 to keep you safe. And, because it's integrated into the OS, it doesn't hog any additional resources. Microsoft also updates it frequently with new data definitions, all the while looking to keep the latest threats at bay.

If, for any reason, something breaks through and you can't get rid of it, there's a beefed-up version called Windows Defender Offline. You can run this while not connected to the internet from a USB drive, and it should find those harder-to-kill viruses.

Windows Defender is still considered in many corners to be little more than a baseline, though. Whatever your own opinion, it's still a useful tool, and there's no reason not to use it. It's also good to use alongside other software.

You can never be too careful

You might think that you're careful when you're online, visiting reputable sites and downloading from official sources like the Windows Store, or iTunes. But here's the thing: You're never truly careful if you're going online completely unprotected.

Would you ride a motorcycle without a helmet? Even if you're careful, there's potential for disaster.

The people coding viruses and malware know exactly how to get it out to the wider world. That's why it still exists.

Something is always better than nothing

Earlier, we asked if you need to use antivirus today. The answer was yes, and no. The no refers to the fact that you don't have to go and find antivirus software anymore. If you're using Windows 10, and everything is up to date, you already have a solid, free tool built in that won't hog your system resources and will keep an eye on things in the background.

And if you're using nothing at all, immediately go enable Windows Defender. (Do it now!)

Sadly, you do still need antivirus software in 2020. It's not necessarily to stop viruses anymore, but there are all kinds of miscreants out there who want nothing more than to steal and cause mayhem by getting inside your PC. It sounds scary, but because much of our lives are now conducted online, the threat is as real as ever.

Which route you take and which software you use is ultimately your decision. But don't think it won't happen to you. That's precisely when it will.

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