Does my Mac device need antivirus?

You may have heard in the past that ‘Apple never gets viruses’. 

In the past this may have been true with Windows being the preferred platform at the time.  
However, with the growth and popularity of Mac devices. Virus and malware creators have shifted their focus.  

A report from Malwarebytes suggested that Mac malware grew by 270% in 2017.  Currently Mac OS has some built-in security features the same as with Windows which has Windows Security Essentials. Mac also have Gatekeeper, which blocks software that hasn’t been approved by Apple from installing and running without your permission. 

While Apple are fantastic at finding ‘bugs’ or ‘loop holes’ even offering up hefty rewards to programmers for advising them of these. Apple can sometimes not catch viruses/malware in time for the developers to create a fix. Which is where your antivirus will come into play. As a ‘last line of defence’. 

There are many antivirus products in the market for Mac devices. However you do need to be careful which one you go with as there are many out there that are malicious and disguise themselves as an antivirus product. (eg: MacDefender 2011) 

Ways that you can protect yourself further. 

Do not connect to public Wi-Fi networks- There may be someone lurking and can gain access to your passwords and other private information. There have been cases of snoopers creating a ‘free public Wi-fi’ Close to hotels and coffee stores to do exactly this. 

Keep Java and Flash up to date- Apple does block Java and Flash automatically. So, if you ever find that a video is not playing correctly check that you have the latest Java and Flash versions. As even if you accept the programs to be installed updates will not happen automatically. 

Do not open any emails that you are unsure of- Anything that requires a password to open or to install anything is probably not nice.  Best to delete them if you encounter them. 

So if you are a high user of internet connected apps/programs on your Mac device we would recommend that you look at installing a reputable Antivirus product to keep you protected. For further assistance call your local computer store who can help you out.