# Viruses on the Macintosh



## PhotonGuy (Jul 15, 2014)

I was told that the Macintosh computer does not get viruses because viruses are not made for the Macintosh. Viruses are made for the PC which is used for spreadsheets and for keeping track of accounts containing money so it would make sense viruses would be made mostly for the PC. Nevertheless my Macintosh that I use to access the internet has appeared to pick up some viruses or at least it has some problems as I am not able to log into my Youtube account from this computer or post anything on Youtube and my Popcorn application doesn't work either. Perhaps I should take it to the shop.


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## jezr74 (Jul 15, 2014)

PhotonGuy said:


> I was told that the Macintosh computer does not get viruses because viruses are not made for the Macintosh. Viruses are made for the PC which is used for spreadsheets and for keeping track of accounts containing money so it would make sense viruses would be made mostly for the PC. Nevertheless my Macintosh that I use to access the internet has appeared to pick up some viruses or at least it has some problems as I am not able to log into my Youtube account from this computer or post anything on Youtube and my Popcorn application doesn't work either. Perhaps I should take it to the shop.



That is not entirely true. Traditional viruses are purpose built, they can potential target iOS, Linux, PC, Android, etc etc... there are a range of attacks these days, malware, greyware, ransomware etc.. 

It's just unlikely Mac OS will be targeted and are a lot rarer due to the PC having a much larger user base and is more likely a target. Mind you apples disclosure is different to say Microsoft who have to disclose a lot more I believe.

But PC and Mac user alike are just as susceptible to socila engineering, or fraudulent emails phishing for your data or trying to trick you into executing malicious code.

You could try scanning with an online virus scanner. Not really sure if they are available for Mac OS to tell the truth.


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## Bob Hubbard (Jul 16, 2014)

Sophos Anti Virus for the Mac.
It's free.
I run antivirus on all my devices. PC, Mac, Android, Linux, etc.

While there are 100,000+ PC viruses, there are a ot less for the Mac. However less doesn't mean none.  In addition, there are a lot of worms, trojans, etc that can effect you.  Run a good antivirus and anti-malware program.  Make sure it's updated regularly.  Scan regularly.   While I can't recall the last time I ran across a Mac virus, I still filter out plenty of PC and web based ones.

The Ten Most Dangerous Mac Viruses


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## jezr74 (Jul 17, 2014)

PhotonGuy said:


> I was told that the Macintosh computer does not get viruses because viruses are not made for the Macintosh. Viruses are made for the PC which is used for spreadsheets and for keeping track of accounts containing money so it would make sense viruses would be made mostly for the PC. Nevertheless my Macintosh that I use to access the internet has appeared to pick up some viruses or at least it has some problems as I am not able to log into my Youtube account from this computer or post anything on Youtube and my Popcorn application doesn't work either. Perhaps I should take it to the shop.




Did you find anything?


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## Xue Sheng (Jul 17, 2014)

PhotonGuy said:


> I was told that the Macintosh computer does not get viruses because viruses are not made for the Macintosh. Viruses are made for the PC which is used for spreadsheets and for keeping track of accounts containing money so it would make sense viruses would be made mostly for the PC. Nevertheless my Macintosh that I use to access the internet has appeared to pick up some viruses or at least it has some problems as I am not able to log into my Youtube account from this computer or post anything on Youtube and my Popcorn application doesn't work either. Perhaps I should take it to the shop.



First, people in the Mac store are trained to lie and it does not matter if you or anyone else believes that...and I will not argue it...but it is true.

Second, as stated, Macs are not as big a target as a PC but there are virus that can infect macs and there are viruses that target macs. 
Macs are not as big in enterprise as PCs and many that are in Enterprise are for art purposes and are simply not as important a target for the black hats out there.

For a Mac I recommend Intego VirusBarrier or another of there more extensive security products


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