Viruses and malware represent one of the greatest dangers on the Internet. And the danger is not getting any smaller: the sheer enormous number of viruses lurking on the World Wide Web is growing by 350.000 new variants every day. Windows users in particular are used to equipping themselves with additional antivirus software. Despite the in-house protection that Apple offers, the Mac OS is not invulnerable either. In this article we provide information about a frequently asked question: How necessary is additional Apple virus protection and what options are there?
Apple as a company is known for providing solid virus protection for your Mac and other devices out of the box. Starting from automatic data encryption and an Sandbox architecture The protection continues until the integration of the antivirus software “XProtect".
Technologies such as Executable Disable (XD), memory dicing (Address Space Layout Randomization, ASLR) and System Integrity Protection, SIP) for use. They provide a good basis for making it more difficult for malware to cause damage. These technologies prevent processes with root privileges from modifying critical system files. Furthermore, Apple scores with its FileVault 2 system, which encrypts the entire hard drive.
Also the in-house browser “Safari“ comes with the latest protection standards: intelligent tracking protection, password monitoring and separate processes. They cause malicious code to be restricted to one tab and unable to access any data.
Paired with that App Store, a secure source for many everyday programs, Apple provides solid basic protection on the latest devices. The question remains: Is this enough virus protection for your Mac?
The feeling of security can be deceptive: Although Apple offers a lot of protection mechanisms, the Mac OS is no more secure than its Microsoft counterpart. According to the Assessments by some experts they are even much less safe. This was demonstrated, among other things, at the Defcon hacker conference: There it was impressively proven that Macs are very vulnerable to a wide variety of attacks and that it often only takes a few seconds for them to be taken over. Accordingly, virus protection for your Mac makes sense and is recommended.
Among other things, experts criticize the Firewall, which e.g. B. first switched on manually must be taken – a step that is often simply forgotten. Even the in-house virus program “XProtect” cannot prevail against the Microsoft counterpart “Defender”. Because XProtect only detects malware based on the signature.
It is true that the Most malware is written for Windows becomes. But that doesn't mean that it's harder to create malware for the Mac. And if antivirus software is not used, it often goes undetected. It must also be borne in mind that the number of Macs is constantly increasing and as a result increasingly becoming an attractive target for hackers is.
Macs are also very good at it also infected with Windows malware. Even if these cannot harm the Mac OS itself, they are spread within the network. The lack of protection therefore represents a danger for all devices in the network. Antivirus protection for your Mac can protect against viruses and the like.
No matter how good a device may be from a technical point of view, the greatest risk remains Human factor. The users of a system represent a risk that is difficult to calculate.
From Phishing Even when surfing the Internet, there is always the risk that careless actions can cause damage to a system. One click on the wrong one e-mail, negligence in the Password security or thoughtless Open files This also quickly leads to devastating effects on a Mac.
That's why it's even more important that you... z. B. due to user awareness and virus protection for Mac creates a basis on which work can be carried out safely and thoughtfully. That's how it works Minimize residual risk.
Does it make sense to install additional antivirus protection for Mac? The answer is clearly “yes”.
Many factors play a role here: On the one hand, the Mac OS is a system that constantly developed by Apple becomes. This is important because malware and the like are developing just as quickly as the security functions of a Mac. On the other hand, we see that despite Apple's desire to offer an absolutely secure system, the Mac and the Mac OS are in some respects behind the standard hang.
In addition, there is basically no absolute security: IT security is a process, which takes time and does not come “out of the box”.
Added to that man as an unknown variable, who has a major influence on the security of an IT system through his actions. In order to minimize the risk of malware and careless users, we also recommend virus protection for Macs.
