

However a virus does require some human interaction to work. Malware can come in many different forms, but some of the most common are:Įach type of malware will infect your system in a different way and use different tactics to stay active on your system and undetected as long as possible.Ī Virus is normally hidden within another program or file that will attempt to replicate itself in an attempt to destroy data and corrupt your system. Malware is a term that was coined in the early 90s to incorporate all forms of computer attacks, as opposed to simply referring to them all as computer viruses, because different types of attacks worked in completely different ways and often times with vastly different motives. Malware, or Malicious Software, is used to either gather information or gain access to your system or network. Whether to attack the Mac itself, or to lie dormant until a Windows based system can be infected. With Macs becoming more commonplace in and out of the workplace, hackers are starting to develop attacks specifically for the Mac platform.

A Windows virus will affect more users, businesses, and organizations, as well as allow the hacker to gain access to more information.
#Do mac computers need antivirus software Pc#
It is true that there are fewer viruses and malware on the Mac platform, but the main reason there are fewer viruses on a Mac than a PC is because it is more profitable to create a virus for a Windows based system.
#Do mac computers need antivirus software software#
With OPSWAT reporting in 2015 that 97% of users using antivirus protection or malware protection software have not run a scan in the last 7 days, it shows how important it is to get a malware protection that offers live protection. Also, 65% of the virus protection on the Mac platform is not real-time protection, which means that the software needs to be run manually to be effective, while on Windows systems the real-time usage is 61% almost the opposite of the Mac. Only 50% of Mac users are running virus protection when compared to the 76% of Windows users. However with the increase in Macs on the market, and the increase in using peer-to-peer services, Macs are at a greater risk than they ever have been in the past. Often you will hear claims that Macs don’t get viruses, and that there is no reason for antivirus protection software on the Mac platform.
