# Mac Newbie



## NickP (Nov 20, 2005)

Having just made the switch to an iMac after 20+ years of PC use, are there any must have programs/apps that I need?
I have Office for Mac 2011, Aperture and Toast Titanium installed so far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## stuart.cameron (Apr 10, 2011)

Handbrake for ripping DVD's onto your HD


----------



## Laurie.J.M (Jun 23, 2011)

VLC player, quicktime's good but there are formats it can't read. TBH OSX comes with just about everything you need already bundled. If you intend to do video editing Final Cut creates a more slick and professional look than I-movie. Aperture is good but I prefer Photoshop for editing and then Iphoto for viewing.


----------



## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

CC-Cleaner for a bit of housekeeping.


----------



## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

Sophos anti-virus - a great free app from one of the world-leaders.


----------



## Gruffs (Dec 10, 2007)

DW58 said:


> Sophos anti-virus - a great free app from one of the world-leaders.


I can only agree with this.

I have found it has slowed it down a touch but not so much as to be an annoyance.

Whatever you do, stay away from GTA San Andreas on the App Store. You'll lose days in a nostalgic other dimension.


----------



## Laurie.J.M (Jun 23, 2011)

Gruffs said:


> I can only agree with this.
> 
> I have found it has slowed it down a touch but not so much as to be an annoyance.
> 
> Whatever you do, *stay away from GTA San Andreas on the App Store. You'll lose days in a nostalgic other dimension*.


I made that mistake except on Xbox Live. If you want nostalgic gaming on your mac get PCSX PS1 emulator for mac, I have lost many hours playing all my old favourites.


----------



## Yowfailed (Mar 14, 2012)

Clean My Mac, just to keep the crap from the HD. As for anti virus?? Had this discussion with my local KRCS guru the other day. In his words, not mine...............In 11 years of Mac use never had, or heard of anyone having a virus on a Mac?


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Yowfailed said:


> Clean My Mac, just to keep the crap from the HD. As for anti virus?? Had this discussion with my local KRCS guru the other day. In his words, not mine...............*In 11 years of Mac use never had, or heard of anyone having a virus on a Mac?*


In what is probably close to 20yrs of using computers (the past 8 or 9 with Mac's) I've never had a virus, touch wood. I always had AV software with my Windows machines and never had a warning, have never bothered installing any on any of my Mac's.

I put it down to using a bit of common sense and being selective with what I download/install.

I also like CleanMyMac. Been usimg it for a couple of years and it's recovered nigh on 15gb of space on my current machine and I've only had it since January.


----------



## Gruffs (Dec 10, 2007)

Yeah. But, It's free and belt and braces.

Just trying to think of other stuff i use.

XMBC is a great media player but when topldownload got shut down last year, it sort of lost it's usefulness a bit.


----------



## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Yowfailed said:


> Clean My Mac, just to keep the crap from the HD. As for anti virus?? Had this discussion with my local KRCS guru the other day. In his words, not mine...............*In 11 years of Mac use never had, or heard of anyone having a virus on a Mac?*


Then they should read the news a bit more. Ignoring the fact that the first computer virus infected Macs, there has been an increasing amount of viruses that are attacking Macs recently. As with Windows, the viruses have to be initiated by the user clicking on something.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_BackDoor.Flashback

There has been another new one doing the rounds recently and Apple took the claim that they don't get viruses off their website last week. Don't be naive.


----------



## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

Yowfailed said:


> Clean My Mac, just to keep the crap from the HD. As for anti virus?? Had this discussion with my local KRCS guru the other day. In his words, not mine...............In 11 years of Mac use never had, or heard of anyone having a virus on a Mac?





m1pui said:


> In what is probably close to 20yrs of using computers (the past 8 or 9 with Mac's) I've never had a virus, touch wood. I always had AV software with my Windows machines and never had a warning, have never bothered installing any on any of my Mac's.
> 
> I put it down to using a bit of common sense and being selective with what I download/install.
> 
> I also like CleanMyMac. Been usimg it for a couple of years and it's recovered nigh on 15gb of space on my current machine and I've only had it since January.





Gruffs said:


> Yeah. But, It's free and belt and braces.
> 
> Just trying to think of other stuff i use.
> 
> XMBC is a great media player but when topldownload got shut down last year, it sort of lost it's usefulness a bit.


In nine months Sophos has picked up three items of Malware on my Mac, and thus three items I wouldn't have been aware of had I not had it installed. Although there isn't anything like the volume of virus/malware etc. traffic out there affecting Macs, it's still there, Sophos is free so why not use it.

Better to be safe than sorry.


----------



## nick.s (Dec 21, 2009)

Perian. You'll be able to play any file in Quicktime without the need for another plugin or codec pack :thumb:


----------



## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

If you are using it for Media playback Plex is a great piece of software :thumb:



nick.s said:


> Perian. You'll be able to play any file in Quicktime without the need for another plugin or codec pack :thumb:


Not true, VLC plays more formats.


----------



## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

Sophos is a brilliant tool, tbh Apple have never ever stated that you do not need AV, i do wonder how some people think that it is totally secure because it is not. 

the only thing that has ever saved apple is that there are more windows machines in the world and corporations using windows. now that sway has slightly reduced and to be fair only a dumb idiot would run without sophos released it for this very reason.

My other thing is for godsake do third party updates like flash etc. do not do them at your peril so many attacks are now through third party tools not MS or apple...


----------



## nick.s (Dec 21, 2009)

Bero said:


> If you are using it for Media playback Plex is a great piece of software :thumb:
> 
> Not true, VLC plays more formats.


Fair play  For me, I've needed nothing more :thumb:


----------



## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

It's interesting to note that in the new version of OS-X (Mountain Lion) due out toward the end of this month, Apple have incorporated a security app. called Gatekeeper. Despite this, I'll still use Sophos which I happen to know is used as default by certain Government agencies both in the UK and The Netherlands where data security is paramount. It was recommended to me by a Dutch friend who works for a rather sensitive department.


----------



## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Ninja59 said:


> Sophos is a brilliant tool, tbh Apple have never ever stated that you do not need AV, i do wonder how some people think that it is totally secure because it is not.


No, but their marketing wasn't exactly clear for the tech illiterate. They have dropped the mention of "virus" on their website now.


----------



## NickP (Nov 20, 2005)

DW58 said:


> CC-Cleaner for a bit of housekeeping.


Thanks, these seems to have come installed already!


----------



## Ric (Feb 4, 2007)

jamest said:


> No, but their marketing wasn't exactly clear for the tech illiterate. They have dropped the mention of "virus" on their website now.


They have done this because of the flashback infection.

But TBH, one virus gets into a mac and the world goes MAD saying oh MAC's are insecure etc etc.

and its published around because it's apple, there are Viruses for both platforms, its just common sense is more on the traditional type of mac user side.

Windows must have millions of them...


----------



## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

carbonangel said:


> They have done this because of the flashback infection.
> 
> But TBH, one virus gets into a mac and the world goes MAD saying oh MAC's are insecure etc etc.
> 
> ...


Have tbh even then though to be fair some mac users in the drive by technique seemed utterly stupid where as windows users were aware and ignored it...was it MacKeeper...i cannot remember straight off atm.

And macs are insecure sometimes thanks to apples own arrogance!


----------



## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

carbonangel said:


> They have done this because of the flashback infection.
> 
> But TBH, one virus gets into a mac and the world goes MAD saying oh MAC's are insecure etc etc.


There have been 3 or 4 recently (including Flashback) and the general perception from a lot of Apple users was that they were invulnerable which was in part caused by Apple's marketing.


carbonangel said:


> and its published around because it's apple, there are Viruses for both platforms, its just common sense is more on the traditional type of mac user side.
> 
> Windows must have millions of them...


You think it is published just because it is Apple? Maybe it was published due to the fact that it educated a lot of Apple users that they should be careful about security.

There are a lot of news articles about Windows based viruses, there was one recently which was caused by certificate errors or something, but I guess I didn't read that because it isn't Apple.

You cannot seriously believe that Apple users as a whole are more security conscious than other PC users. Such a daft statement to make.

Doesn't matter what platform you get, if you aren't security conscious which most people aren't, get an AV program.


----------



## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

I don't use any antivirus on my G5. To install anything on the Mac you need to enter a password unlike on Windows so it's difficult to get a virus unless you're installing things you're not 100% sure about. I might try this Sophos though to see what it's like.


----------



## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

Pezza4u said:


> I don't use any antivirus on my G5. *To install anything on the Mac you need to enter a password* unlike on Windows so it's difficult to get a virus unless you're installing things you're not 100% sure about. I might try this Sophos though to see what it's like.


Not true in all cases. Flashback didn't require you to enter a password for you to be infected.


----------



## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

jamest said:


> Not true in all cases. Flashback didn't require you to enter a password for you to be infected.





Pezza4u said:


> I don't use any antivirus on my G5. To install anything on the Mac you need to enter a password unlike on Windows so it's difficult to get a virus unless you're installing things you're not 100% sure about. I might try this Sophos though to see what it's like.


there is a fair few that can circumnavigate password entry...

windows you still need to respond to the black out screen if you are using normal security settings though...:thumb:

sophos does not really interrupt my air i must say.

i think i have found far more blase mac users than windows users...

oh and the updated flashback trojan...

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/04/13/sabpab-new-mac-os-x-backdoor-trojan-horse-discovered/


----------



## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

Pezza4u said:


> I don't use any antivirus on my G5. To install anything on the Mac you need to enter a password unlike on Windows so it's difficult to get a virus unless you're installing things you're not 100% sure about. I might try this Sophos though to see what it's like.


On your head be it - I'm damned sure I wouldn't run any computer of mine either Mac or PC without security software.

When I returned home from the Apple Store with my new MacBook Pro, the first thing I did after logging on to our Wi-Fi network was to download/install Sophos.

Apple themselves have done the Mac community no favours with their blasé attitude to viruses/malware, but by incorporating _Gatekeeper_ into Mac OS-X Mountain Lion they have finally admitted there is a problem albeit they have glossed it over by suggesting the primary purpose is to protect users from corrupt/non-approved Apps., but there is clearly an anti-virus/anti-malware element to it. That aside, I'll continue to use Sophos.

Put it this was - you say you have no security software on your G5, so how do you know your computer is safe?

Answer - you don't!!!


----------



## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

DW58 said:


> Put it this was - you say you have no security software on your G5, so how do you know your computer is safe?
> 
> Answer - you don't!!!


True but I'm confident it is. I'm going to install Sophos tonight and see if it picks anything up. End of the day I'm careful with what sites I visit and don't click on anything that is suspect. Decent firewall settings are a must as well. It seems Mac viruses have progressed since I had my last one.


----------



## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

But how can you be confident - many viruses/malware etc. are picked up from trusted sites/sources.

You may be lucky, but perhaps you're not.


----------



## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

And the AV companies will take time to get up to speed with new viruses/trojans. There have been numerous cases of rootkits being around for months before being discovered by any AV companies.


----------



## eatcustard (May 4, 2011)

Flip for mac
imovie (unless It still comes with it),
Angry Birds
TechTool Pro is the best "cleaner" you can get


----------



## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

DW58 said:


> On your head be it - I'm damned sure I wouldn't run any computer of mine either Mac or PC without security software.
> 
> When I returned home from the Apple Store with my new MacBook Pro, the first thing I did after logging on to our Wi-Fi network was to download/install Sophos.
> 
> ...


In the last 10 years I've never had a virus, i've had AVG free on my laptop and it's never picked up anything. And don't use and AV on the Mac. On Mac they ARE safer, the MacDefender malware which is just over a year old is regarded as the 1st major threat to Mac. No doubt the number of virus' will increase as Macs start to take a higher % of the computer market and the attitude Mac users have (fostered by apple) will make them more vunerable. I'm sure there will be one or two that slip through onto Iphone/iPads too.

Looking at AV reliability they can be as low as 30% too, or even cause problems providing false positives....or even worst as they have uber access to your computer if there's a flaw in them a virus can exploit the flaw and have a lot more control using the AV privileges!


----------



## Yowfailed (Mar 14, 2012)

Having posted into this thread very early on repeating a comment made by my local KRCS Guru I was somewhat shot down in flames and referred to as a little 'Naive' 

OK, being an open minded kind of guy I downloaded Sophus, installed same and away it went.................Over an hour later, 'No threats detected'? 

This on a two year old iMac.

Whilst I fully appreciate that there are viruses out there and yes, Macs are susceptible, its more the exception than the rule. Unlike Microsoft of course.


----------



## eatcustard (May 4, 2011)

I have used Macs since 1986 and have never had a virus, I use PCs (when I have to) and they just attract them 

I must stop looking at "those" sites


----------



## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

No-one has to use any security software on PC or Mac, the choice is 100% up to the user - simples.

Just a question for the doubters though - when Gatekeeper is introduced as part of OS-X Mountain Lion will you disable it? I'll use it, but continue to use Sophos as well ... ... ... to be sure to be sure as they say 

Good job we all have a choice


----------



## jamest (Apr 8, 2008)

eatcustard said:


> I have used Macs since 1986 and have never had a virus, I use PCs (when I have to) and they just attract them
> 
> I must stop looking at "those" sites


I was doing some research in malware and viruses a while and tried to infect a virtual machine running Windows XP with no updates nor AV.

Downloaded all sorts of random exe files (and ran them) from Kazaa/Limewire, not a single virus, virtual machine was absolutely fine. Honestly don't know how some people get them so easily.


----------



## Pezza4u (Jun 7, 2007)

Yowfailed said:


> Having posted into this thread very early on repeating a comment made by my local KRCS Guru I was somewhat shot down in flames and referred to as a little 'Naive'
> 
> OK, being an open minded kind of guy I downloaded Sophus, installed same and away it went.................Over an hour later, 'No threats detected'?
> 
> ...


I did the same last night and I woke up to nothing being found and I've had the Mac for 15 months now. I did have to leave it running most of the night though as it had over 500,000 files to scan over 2 drives!!

I'll keep it on there as it won't do any harm but like I said before from past experience it's very difficult to infect a Mac.

Even when I ran Windows for 9 years after taking a break from Mac's I only got a couple of viruses and they weren't bad ones. I remember being at Uni and building a PC for a mate, he only had it one night before ringing me to say he had infected it from downloading crap from imesh and the computer needed a reinstall, I weren't impressed! :wall:


----------

