AV on a Mac?

[Spoiler]

Does anyone with a Mac use Anti-Virus software?

I've had my iMac for just over a year now & don't have any installed. I was under the impression before I bought a Mac that you didn't need to bother with AV. The chap in the Apple store confirmed my thoughts (probably not surprisingly).

So, am i being naive in not having any AV, or is it something that us Mac people really don't need to be concerning ourselves with?!

[Cowboy Bob]

No AV here.

[Zorba]

Bareback eh? Is that the same with Linux?

Untapped market, if you ask me

[miffy]

Bareback eh? Is that the same with Linux?

Yup. No AV for either of my linux hosts (one workstation, one mail/web/db server).

It's a good idea to have AV on linux boxes that are processing mail or storing/serving files to Windows hosts because of the risk you'll pass on/serve potentially infected files.

[realityhack]

No AV here either. I do wonder about it though - there's a MacAfee for the Mac out there somewhere.

[NickFitz]

Does anyone with a Mac use Anti-Virus software?

<snip>

So, am i being naive in not having any AV, or is it something that us Mac people really don't need to be concerning ourselves with?!

No AV here either. I do wonder about it though - there's a MacAfee for the Mac out there somewhere.

No AV in 6+ years of running Macs. A friend with an extensive network of Macs and nearly twenty years experience of them has none. Most of my colleagues at work use Macs - no AV.

Even more notable, we get away with connecting Mac Minis to the corporate network as iTunes shares without anybody batting an eyelid. Connecting your own Windows PC to the network is a sacking offence

As for the MacAfee thing - there's one born every minute. Well, to be charitable, people who are reasonably smart but don't know much about computers have always been told how important it is to have AV, and don't realise that it's irrelevant on a Mac. MacAfee takes advantage of their ignorance to sell them something which, while doubtless functional, is unnecessary.

Important point:

Windows running through BootCamp, or running in a Parallels VM, needs AV, particularly if you allow it access to your Mac files.

[daviejones]

I may get AV when the virus writers start to target the Mac, but until then....