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As someone new to the Mac ecosystem, is it standard practice to run an antivirus as it is on Windows? I have used various Linux systems as my daily web browsin

• coldtea 9y ago
  >As someone new to the Mac ecosystem, is it standard practice to run an antivirus as it is on Windows? No, almost nobody does it (plus, a few "antivirus" products for Mac are malware themselves, e.g. Mac Defender etc.). Most so-called "viruses" for Mac are in fact merely trojans (programs you need to download and run yourself to infect you).
  • pjmlp 9y ago
    Corporate laptops everywhere I worked are subject to the same anti-virus policies, regardless of the operating system.
    • coldtea 9y ago
      Well, corporate laptops where I work (company bought Macs usually) don't have mandatory (or even suggested) anti-viruses on them.
• redler 9y ago
  No. It's unusual. The most common case is Macs in corporate environments where "local anti-virus" is required across all desktop systems (with such policies typically originating in Windows-centric companies).
• adrianN 9y ago
  You probably shouldn't install any antivirus on Windows either. They're so full of holes that they probably increase the likelyhood that you get a virus.
• pwython 9y ago
  I was a Windows user for 10 years. Now a Mac user for 11 years. Haven't needed any sort of antivirus yet. Just thinking back to my time with Windows makes me chuckle, when I had an arsenal of virus scanners, startup disablers, and registry cleaners on hand.