first time mac user needs help with softwares :)

tofachinotofachino
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Hi



I'm receiving my powerbook within 2-3days... what programs do i need? like in windows i use 'Download accelerator' to be able to download stuff with top speed.. and 'Ad-Aware' to remove adds and spy files.... i need recommendations from u guys...



what is the best antivirus program? is it included in the powerbook package?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    jwri004jwri004 Posts: 626member
    Forget about virus protection for the meantime as there is nothing really out there that can hurt a mac. If you have a .mac account you will get virex for a year.



    As far as downloading Speed Download from YazSoft is a personal favourite, though depending on your needs it might not be necessary.



    A good place to look for apps is versiontracker.com as it has a good selection of freeware/shareware/retail app.



    Hope this helps.
  • Reply 2 of 4
    john whitneyjohn whitney Posts: 99member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by TofaChino

    Hi



    I'm receiving my powerbook within 2-3days... what programs do i need? like in windows i use 'Download accelerator' to be able to download stuff with top speed.. and 'Ad-Aware' to remove adds and spy files.... i need recommendations from u guys...



    what is the best antivirus program? is it included in the powerbook package?



    I can't really say you'd need an Ad-Aware equivalent, as I know of no adware/spyware for the Mac. The same goes for viruses and antivirus programs.



    For the best protection on a Mac, I'd suggest that your standard user account is a non-admin account, and that you set your system up to backup your home directory daily (I wrote scripts to do this, but I'm a geek ). If you are a non-admin user, the only damage spyware/viruses could do to your computer is to your home directory. You won't have unrestricted access to the system applications, or the hard drive, etc.



    As for a "download accelerator", I've never heard of one for a Mac, and never felt the need to use one on a PC. (In general, I would have considered it a good candidate for spyware... how does it accelerate your download? Does it somehow optimize your Windows settings for a slow connection, or is it only useful for some sites where both sides do compression or something?)



    John
  • Reply 3 of 4
    r3dx0rr3dx0r Posts: 201member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by John Whitney

    As for a "download accelerator", I've never heard of one for a Mac, and never felt the need to use one on a PC. (In general, I would have considered it a good candidate for spyware... how does it accelerate your download? Does it somehow optimize your Windows settings for a slow connection, or is it only useful for some sites where both sides do compression or something?)



    most download mangers try to connect more than one time to a server,

    so that the actual upload limit is bypassed. clever download managers accept multiple servers for one file too.

    but still i don't really see the need to have one. curl works good for me.



    as the others said there is no virus threat on macosx, well it doesn't hurt to be protected just in case.

    ads are taken care by most browsers nowadays (omniweb(!!!), safari, etc.)



    regarding other programs: most of the time you won't have to pay for software

    because there are great freeware apps that offer similar functionality

    (colloquy, cyberduck, adium, fink, netnewswire, quinn, subethaedit, vlc...just to name a few of my favorites)
  • Reply 4 of 4
    vox barbaravox barbara Posts: 2,021member
    Firstly, congrats and enjoy your little baby.



    Secondly, it always depends on what you are actually suppose to do.

    The consumer macs, (that one with the "i" in its name) come pretty much full featured. The pro machines particularily do lack an... hm... office suite.



    I'd suggest, become familiar with the apps, which come bundled with your mac, particularily the entire ilife family.

    If your hunger growes, well then ...



    Though, - no viruses, no adware, no trojans, - therefore no need to buy any app for that purpose



    best
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