Is Antivirus Software Really Necessary on a Mac?

Apple has claimed in advertisements that the Mac OS platform is "safer" than Windows XP or Vista. Mac users are less likely to encounter viruses and other types of malicious software than Windows users, but before using this info to buy your next computer, it's worth considering exactly why there are fewer viruses for Mac users--and whether a new Mac actually does need some sort of protection against trojans, worms and other bad stuff that could be lurking on the Internet.

Likelihood Of Infection

As any Mac salesperson will tell you, the chances of virus infection on a mac are significantly lower than the chances of infection on a PC. This is because Windows was and still is the dominant platform.

Let's say that you're a hacker looking for fame. You'll usually want to target computers that can spread your virus more easily, and as there are more Windows computers than Mac computers, you'll probably want to program a Windows virus. It's also going to be easier for you--Mac OS uses HFS or HFS+ as its file system, which is very different from what most programmers are used to. Mac programmers cost more and Mac hackers are rare for this reason.

It's hard to guess the number of viruses designed specifically for Mac OS--at one point, Apple claimed that only 4 viruses existed, but this probably wasn't true at the time and certainly isn't true now. Even so, it's not a close comparison. Hackers target Windows operating systems.

The Benefits of Mac Antivirus

The likelihood of virus infection may be much lower on a Mac, but that doesn't mean that antivirus software is unnecessary. The information on your Mac's hard drive could be priceless, particularly if you use it to store family pictures, videos, and other valuable data. If you shop online, identity thieves could target your computer through a virus or other piece of malicious software, potentially costing you thousands of dollars.

I used to work at a data recovery company, and we'd see Mac virus cases every once in a blue moon. Some Windows macro viruses could spread to the Mac through Word files and other types of files that are used in both operating systems, so these would pup up. Windows users lost more files due to viruses, but just the fact that there were a few Mac viruses would trouble me if I used Macs regularly for my important documents.

With that being said, antivirus software isn't strictly necessary on the Mac, and it's way more important to back up your important data on a regular basis. Make sure that you don't open any files if you don't know where they came from. Don't go to sketchy websites. If buying antivirus software will help you sleep easier, there are some great options out there, but good computer habits are more important for both Mac and Windows users.