Looking for good firewall and virus programs.....

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dallenbdallenb
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Just got my new iBook, and I see it didnt come with some software I had assumed it would have.



First, I had expected the Airport base would have some sort of firewall, which I have been told it doesnt. So I guess I need a good firewall. I always liked Norton's software on my PC, is it any good on Macs?



Second, it has no virus software! Again, I have always liked Nortons software, but am unsure how good it is for Macs.



So far, I am enjoying the iBook, just having trouble navigating since I am not used using any of Apple's products.



Thanks

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    dartblazerdartblazer Posts: 149member
    first, congrats on the ibook. i love mine .



    The airport base station does not have a firewall, but i believe it does NAT or PAT, basically your ip address is safe because any hackers will be trying to hack your basestation and wont be able to get to your pc. Unless they really wanted to, but you couldnt really stop that unless you bought like a cisco pix firewall, which equals $600 or so. Also if you're using OSX it has a builtin firewall, its in the preference panel under networking or sharing i believe.



    Norton is not good on any platform, in all my experiences it causes more problems than it will ever fix, and most of the time it wont remove viruses by itself. You actually really dont even need virus software on a mac. In the 8 years i've been working on and using and troubleshooting macs i've only seen one virus once, and the only problem it caused was that internet explorer wouldnt open.



    But if you do insist on having virus software, you could always buy into .mac. It comes with virus software, and software that can do backups to your idisk. plus you get a nice email account and web space.
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  • Reply 2 of 8
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    Firewall software:

    See System Preferences -&gt; Sharing. Mac OS X has a very good built-it firewall. If the options in the System Prefs aren't enough for you, you should download <a href="http://personalpages.tds.net/~brian_hill/brickhouse.html"; target="_blank">BrickHouse</a>, a 3rd party front-end to Mac OS X's firewall with oodles of advanced options. Alternatively, if you're familiar with the command line, you can configure it from there too.



    Virus software:

    Not necessary. To date, there are no known viruses, AFAIK, that affect Mac OS X. Consider this one of the perks of owning a Mac.



    I should note that the firewall software really isn't necessary either unless you're just overly concerned about the privacy of your computer. Mac OS X doesn't have any major security holes, leave open dangerous ports, or have hidden spyware that communicates data without your knowledge.
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  • Reply 3 of 8
    dallenbdallenb Posts: 142member
    [quote]Originally posted by dartblazer:

    <strong>first, congrats on the ibook. i love mine .





    Norton is not good on any platform, in all my experiences it causes more problems than it will ever fix, and most of the time it wont remove viruses by itself. You actually really dont even need virus software on a mac. In the 8 years i've been working on and using and troubleshooting macs i've only seen one virus once, and the only problem it caused was that internet explorer wouldnt open.



    But if you do insist on having virus software, you could always buy into .mac. It comes with virus software, and software that can do backups to your idisk. plus you get a nice email account and web space.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I've never had any problems with Norton on my PC, but maybe I am just lucky. I have heard people say similiar things about Norton software



    As for .mac, I have almost universally heard that it is not worth the money. Not sure if I will try that yet. I am somewhat broke after buying the iBook, Airport card/base all at once
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  • Reply 4 of 8
    dallenbdallenb Posts: 142member
    [quote]Originally posted by Brad:

    <strong>Firewall software:

    See System Preferences -&gt; Sharing. Mac OS X has a very good built-it firewall. If the options in the System Prefs aren't enough for you, you should download <a href="http://personalpages.tds.net/~brian_hill/brickhouse.html"; target="_blank">BrickHouse</a>, a 3rd party front-end to Mac OS X's firewall with oodles of advanced options. Alternatively, if you're familiar with the command line, you can configure it from there too.



    Virus software:

    Not necessary. To date, there are no known viruses, AFAIK, that affect Mac OS X. Consider this one of the perks of owning a Mac.



    I should note that the firewall software really isn't necessary either unless you're just overly concerned about the privacy of your computer. Mac OS X doesn't have any major security holes, leave open dangerous ports, or have hidden spyware that communicates data without your knowledge.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Thanks for the tips, I will go check that out. It is good to know you dont need a firewall, or virus software. Guess I am still very much in a PC state of mind, since you need both of those programs to feel safe with the constant web access a cable modem provides.
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  • Reply 5 of 8
    stupider...likeafoxstupider...likeafox Posts: 1,618member
    [quote]Originally posted by Dallenb:

    <strong>

    As for .mac, I have almost universally heard that it is not worth the money.

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    The people who say that are also the people who think anti-virus software is unnecessary. If you are going to buy AV software anyway then you'll be hard pressed to beat the extra stuff you get when you sign up for .mac.



    Most of the people who are bitching about .mac are complaining because something previously free is being taken away from them, not because of a rational evaluation of the product/service.



    Also, the airport base station does act as a firewall. It will not forward requests to any port unless you specifically ask it to, so all the computers on your airport network are safe unless you start opening ports. Even then, keeping your software up-to-date should be enough. Try one of the online port scanners if you need to check your set-up.
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  • Reply 6 of 8
    anamacanamac Posts: 80member
    It will be interesting (though in an unpleasant way) to see what kind of Unix viruses and hacks will be exploited for OS X. Maybe the comfort level that users of OS 9 and earlier are used to will diminish somewhat. Although, what's the fun in picking on Mac when there is that other enormous target out there.
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  • Reply 7 of 8
    the grimacethe grimace Posts: 71member
    [quote]Originally posted by stupider...likeafox:

    <strong>



    The people who say that are also the people who think anti-virus software is unnecessary. If you are going to buy AV software anyway then you'll be hard pressed to beat the extra stuff you get when you sign up for .mac.



    Most of the people who are bitching about .mac are complaining because something previously free is being taken away from them, not because of a rational evaluation of the product/service.



    Also, the airport base station does act as a firewall. It will not forward requests to any port unless you specifically ask it to, so all the computers on your airport network are safe unless you start opening ports. Even then, keeping your software up-to-date should be enough. Try one of the online port scanners if you need to check your set-up.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Also, doesn't the base station automatically use 128-bit encryption? It originally used 40-bit, IIRC, but it was upgraded about a year or so ago.



    (tig)

    "We do not inherit the land from our ancestors"

    "We borrow it from our chidlren"
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  • Reply 8 of 8
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    About .mac: I've got it and I think it's worth it. The a.v. software I don't need, but the webspace and the ease with which everything works is great. And you also get 100 free kodak prints for signing up. That's about $46 right there. It's worth it, especially now with the extra perks.



    BTW, you don't need defrag software for the Mac either.
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