When your Mac starts behaving strangely and not as it usually does, it makes you wonder whether it might have some sort of malware on it, such as a virus, Trojan or even a type of adware. It is rare for Macs to be infected, but it is not unknown, so when my Mac started playing up, I had to check it out and downloaded ClamXav.
Privacy on computers and the internet is a hot topic and there seems to be no end to the ways in which your personal information can be accessed by third parties. The Apple Mac is not immunue to privacy issues and you may be surprised to learn that by default, it passes on personal information. It must be configured not to if you prefer to maintain your privacy.
There was a time when Apple Macs were immune from malware and viruses simply did not exist for OS X. One of the Mac’s selling points is that it could not get viruses. Sadly this is no longer true and if you have not yet installed security software on your Mac, you should do so soon. Avast is a free antivirus app for OS X that will keep your Mac safe.
Security threats are a new concept for Apple Mac users and their once impregnable and uninfectable computer is now looking increasingly like an attractive target for malware authors and hackers. No longer is it possible to ignore security issues and the Mac and OS X are vulnerable in ways we are only beginning to see. The latest threat is an NTP hack.
There is still a widespread believe that Apple Macs do not get viruses, Trojans, spyware and other types of malware, but this simply is not true. It is much safer to access the internet with a Mac running OS X than a Windows PC, but it is not completely safe and some types of malware target Apple users. After installing OS X Yosemite you should open Safari and fix the security and privacy issues that afflict it.
Advertisers are always looking for better ways to sell you even more stuff than they did previously and one way in which they do this is to track your activities in an attempt to see what you are interested in. iTunes does this on the Apple Mac and the question is, do you want iTunes tracking your activities?
There are many email scams and people are constantly working on ways to fool you into revealing your bank details, login details to online services and so on. You need to be aware of the dangers and how to avoid them. Here is a typical email that tried to fool me into revealing my Apple ID - the username and password used to log into Apple services like iTunes. You might get a similar one, so take a look and learn how to spot the fakes.
Apple Macs are much less likely to be infected by malware like viruses, Trojans and other nasties than Windows computers, but they are not completely immune. There have been some well publicised virus infections in recent years and large numbers of Macs were affected by malware such as the Flashback Trojan, OSX/Crisis and others. Yes, the Mac is safer, but it is not 100% safe.
