Mac Security - I have made my choice
There are a number of Mac security products on the market. Some are free, some are not. Free is good, I guess, if money is the issue.
However, MONEY SHOULD NEVER BE THE ISSUE. Hmmm. Maybe I should have said, "if money is the issue, use a product you pay for". The reasons are simple.
1. You typically get what you pay for (one of my mantras - I use it when I do yoga). If a product is free, there's some catch. The one I most often find is that there is no technical or customer support for free products. Not a problem, right?
WRONG! If you run into any trouble at all, the company who manufactured the product will not support you. Since you are a homeowner, a kid, or a small business owner, you are going to want help if you run into a problem. Therefore, you will have to either get a neighborhood kid, your best friend, or a professional to help. Eventually, it will be a professional because the other two are likely to cause more trouble (remember <say it with me>, you get what you pay for). So, you will have a bigger cash outlay than if you had paid for the software in the first place.
2. Because I have a responsibility for your online safety (whether or not you asked me to take on that task), I have sorted through the list of security software vendors and determined a winner (as far as I'm concerned).
I have prescribed ESET SmartSecurity 4.0 for Windows users for three years or so. ESET has remained vigorous in their determination to be one of the best products on the market.
I did not take the easy way out and pick them because I am familiar with them, either. I researched which companies offer Mac-based security products, which products are free, what services and functions they offer, how well the labs say their products perform, and who the magazines and ezines say are the best.
In my process, I immediately, and without review, eliminate Norton/Symantec and McAfee from the competition. There are several reasons for this, but suffice it to say that these two manufacturers, as the nine-hundred pound gorillas of the industry, sit on your computer just like 900-pound gorillas will. They take up too much of your computer's ability to function well and slow the machine down until you beg for mercy. It never ceases to amaze me that some labs, magazines, and computer manufacturers try to tell you to use those products. I guess for some of them, it just comes down to money. As for the magazines and labs, I don't believe they look at computer resources when they test these products. If they do, then they are insane for recommending them.
So, go to ESET's website and select CyberSecurity for Mac. Get a two-year subscription, it's cheaper. If you have multiple Macs, multiple licenses purchased at the same time provide for a great discount.
Better yet, email me and I'll do it for you, provided you live in the North Atlanta area, of course.
sid"at"plaitsolutions"dot"com.
Be careful out there!
However, MONEY SHOULD NEVER BE THE ISSUE. Hmmm. Maybe I should have said, "if money is the issue, use a product you pay for". The reasons are simple.
1. You typically get what you pay for (one of my mantras - I use it when I do yoga). If a product is free, there's some catch. The one I most often find is that there is no technical or customer support for free products. Not a problem, right?
WRONG! If you run into any trouble at all, the company who manufactured the product will not support you. Since you are a homeowner, a kid, or a small business owner, you are going to want help if you run into a problem. Therefore, you will have to either get a neighborhood kid, your best friend, or a professional to help. Eventually, it will be a professional because the other two are likely to cause more trouble (remember <say it with me>, you get what you pay for). So, you will have a bigger cash outlay than if you had paid for the software in the first place.
2. Because I have a responsibility for your online safety (whether or not you asked me to take on that task), I have sorted through the list of security software vendors and determined a winner (as far as I'm concerned).
ESET CyberSecurity for Mac!
I have prescribed ESET SmartSecurity 4.0 for Windows users for three years or so. ESET has remained vigorous in their determination to be one of the best products on the market.
I did not take the easy way out and pick them because I am familiar with them, either. I researched which companies offer Mac-based security products, which products are free, what services and functions they offer, how well the labs say their products perform, and who the magazines and ezines say are the best.
In my process, I immediately, and without review, eliminate Norton/Symantec and McAfee from the competition. There are several reasons for this, but suffice it to say that these two manufacturers, as the nine-hundred pound gorillas of the industry, sit on your computer just like 900-pound gorillas will. They take up too much of your computer's ability to function well and slow the machine down until you beg for mercy. It never ceases to amaze me that some labs, magazines, and computer manufacturers try to tell you to use those products. I guess for some of them, it just comes down to money. As for the magazines and labs, I don't believe they look at computer resources when they test these products. If they do, then they are insane for recommending them.
So, go to ESET's website and select CyberSecurity for Mac. Get a two-year subscription, it's cheaper. If you have multiple Macs, multiple licenses purchased at the same time provide for a great discount.
Better yet, email me and I'll do it for you, provided you live in the North Atlanta area, of course.
sid"at"plaitsolutions"dot"com.
Be careful out there!
Posted by Sid Plait at 5/14/2011 12:04 PM 
Categories: Malware, Cybercriminals, Macintosh, All, Computers, PC Security, Wireless Networks, Identity Theft, Apple, Technology, Good News!, Bad News!
Tags: eset ESET CyberSecurity for Mac ESET Mac security cyber crime cybercriminals McAfee Symantec Norton
Categories: Malware, Cybercriminals, Macintosh, All, Computers, PC Security, Wireless Networks, Identity Theft, Apple, Technology, Good News!, Bad News!
Tags: eset ESET CyberSecurity for Mac ESET Mac security cyber crime cybercriminals McAfee Symantec Norton
Referring to your statement:
Well, I am currently using AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011 (as well as Windows Firewall) and, although it is excellent at preventing viruses, etc., I find that its virus data-base and/or program update is a pain in the ass -- it causes my Windows-based PC (Dell "Inspiron 9100" Pentium 4, 3.0 GHz) to freeze-up while the update is in progress, usually when I'm in the middle of doing something, which causes me to shout: "NOT NOW, KATO!". However, I've never had that trouble when I was using McAfee Anti-Virus Plus (paid subscription) software; it would just quietly update in the background without interfering with my work. Yes, as you have stated, "You typically get what you pay for"!
Therefore, when I finally get around to upgrading my computer's hard drive and also re-install Windows XP SP3 (and that is also gonna be a pain in the ass!), I am going to go back to using McAfee Anti-Virus Plus or, alternatively, the ESET SmartSecurity 4.0 for Windows that you have suggested.
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Ivan -
You said, " However, I've never had that trouble when I was using McAfee Anti-Virus Plus (paid subscription) software", and therein lies the rub.
You are a fairly sophisticated computer user. You are skeptical of things that are too good to be true (I wonder how I knew THAT <heh>
I recommend my clients and readers use a suite instead of separate products because a suite is much easier to maintain.
How much memory is in the 9100? Also, do you have the Dell reinstallation CD for SP3? I can send you one, if the US version is the same as the Australian one (in a previous post I was "taken to task" for saying, "Aussie"). You ARE from the Land Down Under, correct?
By the way, it's good to hear from you again!
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Firstly, excuse me for the delay in my response; I've been distracted by some astronomy articles that I've been catching up on.
Secondly, you stated: "Anti-Virus software for most users is not enough. It MUST be Internet security as a suite of functions that go way beyond anti-virus."
Well, when I purchased my Dell Inspiron 9100, back in Sept. 2004, it already had McAfee Internet Security pre-installed; however, when the time came around to renewing the annual subscription to McAfee Internet Security, I had found that I didn't need its Spam Filter (because I don't get spam; I'm careful to whom I divulge my e-mail addresses to!) nor its Family Privacy Protection (because I'm a bachelor boy!). Therefore, in order to keep unnecessary costs down, I decided then to opt for the McAfee Anti-Virus Plus package instead, which included the McAfee Firewall; however, after its subscription ran out, and also because I'm a cheapskate, I've been using the AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition and the Windows SP2/SP3 built-in firewall during the past few years.
Also, because the AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition automatic update, when in progress, has a tendency to freeze-up my computer (as I've already mentioned in my previous comment), I've decided to set the bloody thing to manual update! That way, I can initiate the necessary updates when my computer is idle.
Thirdly, regarding your first question: "How much memory is in the 9100?". My Inspiron 9100 currently has the original 512 MB (2 × 256 MB DDR 400 MHz modules) of physical memory, but I have had to increase the virtual memory on its hard drive, from the initial 750 MB to the current 1500 MB, after several warnings from the Windows OS that the physical memory was too low. However, I've recently purchased (at last!), from an independent supplier, 2 of 1 GB DDR 400 MHz memory modules -- the maximum capacity (2,048 M
Also, regarding your second question: "[D]o you have the Dell reinstallation CD for SP3?". No, I have only the original Windows XP (SP1) re-installation CD, so if you have the SP3 version, I would be grateful if you can send it to me, as it will save me the bother of having to download all those Windows XP updates prior to SP3; it doesn't matter if it's a U.S. version -- as long as it's in English!
Finally, as to your last question: "You ARE from the Land Down Under, correct?". Er... although I do like Vegemite sandwiches, I'm sorry to say that I'm not from The Land Down Under ; I reside in the U.K.
P.S. Excuse me for the long-winded reply, Sid, but you did say: "[I]t's good to hear from you again!". So thanks!
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You might actually be wordier (I prefer that over "more wordy") than ME!
A comment to your "secondly" - you are NOT a normal computer user, so your experience with security does not and should not reflect on nor be be used as an example by my readers. You are a more technical person than they, and I don't want you to set an example for them.
Sorry! I didn't realize you are a Brit (likely as much as I'm a Yank). You probably eat that awful stuff called Marmite, too. Yuch! (I just couldn't get used to it, and I tried!)
Send me your mailing address to my personal email box and I'll send you the Dell CD. You'll have to download the drivers on your own.
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Normally, like Clint Eastwood, I'm a 'man of few words' when it comes to face-to-face conversation; however, once I start writing after I'm fired-up with caffeine, I do, sometimes, tend to get carried away...!
Regarding computer security, you're absolutely right that novice computer users should not use my experience with it as an example -- "Don't try this at home!", as experts often say after demonstrating something dangerous on TV.
Yeah, you're right, I do also eat Marmite, but I prefer Vegemite -- it's less salty. Also, I think that the reason you Yanks don't seem to like Marmite/Vegemite is due to your tendency to overdo it by slapping it on a slice of bread, as you lot do with peanut butter (yes, I do like that stuff as well!); whereas Marmite/Vegemite should be spread thinly on buttered bread.
P.S. Where did that smiley with the shades, in my previous comment above, come from? It was supposed to be a "B" followed by a closing bracket.
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