The growing number of Mac users means that cybercriminals are increasingly targeting the platform, and there have been a number of other reliable reports of Mac malware attacks. Whilst this is in itself only a single small incident, it nonetheless proves that the Mac OS cannot be regarded as immune to malware attacks. Apple admitted that some of their systems had indeed been compromised.
![]() Antivirus For 10.7.5 For Mac Os XUninstall/disable the standalone Flash Player Any computer is hackable and not exempt from malware, viruses, and Trojans. Use a sandboxed browser such as Google ChromeAntivirus Free Download For Mac Os X 10.7.5 Many of us think that Mac’s don’t need antivirus solutions, it is not true. Avast Free Antivirus is completely compatible with macOS, and it boasts a range of privacy, security, and performance features designed to protect you from.![]() Even if there are fewer malicious programs aimed at Macs than at Windows PCs, the nature of those that do exist is essentially similar to their Windows counterparts, and so we feel that Mac antivirus software should function in a similar way, too.First, we look at the installation routine of the software. Consider employing security software on your MacWe have reviewed and tested the following products for this report, using the newest version available in July 2013:In this year’s review of antivirus programs for the Mac, we have taken a detailed look at the most important features and functionality of each program, using a similar format to our Summary Review for Windows programs. Deactivate any services such as Airport, Bluetooth or IPv6 that you don’t use Use secure passwords (the Mac includes the KeyChain password manager) Video montage software for macWe would expect to see a status display that indicates whether the virus definitions are up to date and real-time protection is enabled, as these are the most important factors in ensuring the computer is protected. After installation, we start the program and check whether the main window offers essential status information and protection functions. We also check what means are available to uninstall the program. We check the OS X Finder context menu to see if the program has added a scan entry this is not essential, but nonetheless a very convenient method of running a scan on a particular drive or folder. The program interface should in our opinion also provide an easy means of running a scan, whereby we would hope to find options for a full system scan and a custom scan of a particular folder or drive. Of course, this does not apply to programs that are entirely cloud-based. Another item we consider important is an update button, so that the user can ensure malware definitions are completely up to date. We also note any options as to what should happen if a scheduled scan is missed.We try to find out what sort of notification each program provides in the event that a threat is discovered. We look to see if each program in our test configures a scheduled scan by default, and how to set one up if not. We therefore log on to our test Mac using a non-administrator account (specified as such in the settings of the antivirus program, if necessary) and attempt to disable real-time protection, and then to uninstall the program completely.A useful function in an antivirus program is the ability to schedule a scan, so that the computer will be checked regularly for malware without the user having to remember to do it. Finally, we check whether the help feature is easily accessible.Particularly for a family computer, it is important that users with non-administrator accounts should not be able to deactivate important functions of the antivirus program such as real-time protection. Any option to view the page/download the file, to be used by advanced users, should be significantly less obvious/less accessible than the default “safe” option.The last area of each program that we look at is the documentation and help features offered by each vendor. A warning message should make either clear that the threat has already been blocked/quarantined, and that no further action is necessary, or have a clear default option such as Block/Delete/Quarantine, which does not require the user to make a decision about whether a page or file is safe. We feel that when a threat is discovered, a good antivirus program should inform the user that this has happened if a web page or download is blocked without any explanation, the user will very probably just be confused as to why this has happened. Malware Protection/Detection TestIn addition to the interface review described above, we have also conducted actual malware protection tests to see how effectively the Mac security products protect the system against malware. A search function, whereby the user can type in a term such as “scan exclusions” without having to browse through all available articles, is also highly desirable.To conclude our review of each Mac antivirus program, we summarise our overall impressions and note any areas where we feel the software is very good, as well as suggesting possible improvements. We feel that at a minimum, a program should provide some guide to everyday tasks such as updating and scanning, ideally illustrated with screenshots. In our opinion, these 20 malicious Mac apps represent a substantial part of all recent Mac malware from the first half of 2013.The number of malicious programs that can currently attack Mac OS X Mountain Lion is thus very limited. We ended up with a test set consisting of 20 malicious Mac apps found in-the-field that pose a risk to users, and should be covered by Mac Security products. We also excluded component files (which could be in the thousands) as these cannot run and do not pose a risk by themselves certain magazine tests tend to use such files just because they are detected by various products, but we consider components to be irrelevant. As usual, we did not include any potentially unwanted or grey samples (adware, hacking tools, etc.) in the set. All are distinctly malicious, functioning programs and were seen in-the-field in 2013. Finally, we attempted to run any of the malware samples that had not yet been detected.Of the Mac security products tested, all except Quick Heal protected against every one of the 20 Mac malware samples. We then ran an-on demand scan of the flash drive, either from the context menu if available, or from the main program window if not. At this stage, some antivirus programs recognised some of the samples. A USB flash drive containing the malware samples was then plugged in to the test computer. Each program was installed on the freshly imaged machine and the definitions updated to the 19 th July 2013. Precisely because a Mac security product only has to identify a small number of samples, we would expect it to protect the system against all threats that have not yet been blocked by OS X itself.Before the test, the Mac OS X was updated and an image created no further OS X updates were then applied. For this reason, we have also checked if the Mac antivirus products in our review detect Windows malware. TestcasesSome (but not all) of the Mac security products in our review claim to detect Windows malware as well as Mac malware, thus ensuring that the user’s computer does not inadvertently act as a conduit for programs that could attack Windows PCs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorKristy ArchivesCategories |