Anti virus for P/C and Mac. Do you use or need them?

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hsjd700

hsjd700

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My wife has recently bought a new windows laptop, and was convinced to also purchase the Norton 360 anti virus subscription.
I have also purchased a new Mac Mini with the M2 chip and both computers are now running the Norton software. Questions.
1. I have never run any anti virus software on my Macs before. Do Macs need antivirus software?
2. My wife’s laptop comes with Windows Defender, isn’t that antivirus software?
3. Has the salesperson used the threat of cyberattacks to generate extra sales?
 
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Mac user for over 35 years and not felt the need for added antiviral software. I do keep the operating system up to date with Apple's security updates but do so manually to try to avoid being first to find out about an unintended "improvement" (such as ICC file issues with a Big Sur interval update). My father in law did get talked into the Norton software for his Mac and had significant problems with it but some of that may have been a bit of his own making. No real helpful specific knowledge about Windows but I do try to use good general habits such as avoid opening attachments or even emails from unknown users, not clicking on imbedded links in emails unless absolutely sure where they came from, don't respond to surveys , don't "unsubscribe" from email lists I never previously interacted with, etc.
 
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Anecdotally, Mac users / machines have less security issues but it doesn’t mean they foolproof. AV software may help if you inadvertently open something you shouldn’t. For windows machines I think it is a must have. Apart from security and malware, you often get advert and pop up blocking, VPN etc.
Some software is more intrusive on your system resources than others. Do your research. Beware the cheap entry price as the renewals are often outrageous.
 
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I use a Mac primarily at home and don't bother with anti-virus, even though I work in infosec as my day job. It's not that Macs are magically less vulnerable, but instead it's that, generally, there is less malware written targeting Macs. And most malware that DOES impact Macs is distributed by reckless clicking, so you can avoid it pretty easily if you just don't click on suspicious stuff. That said, I do use AV on my work Macs, but that's more sensitive than anything I do on my home computer (AV is also part of our company's security standards, also).

On Windows, however, AV is pretty much a necessity. Windows systems are extremely vulnerable to malware, as they represent the bulk of OS installs worldwide and so the majority of attacks are written to attack them. Windows Defender is not enough. Most of the big, trusted companies will work fine for consumer level protection (Norton, McAfee, etc). I don't interact with consumer-level AV anymore, so I can't recommend one in specific, but you'll likely be fine with Norton.

Additionally, and possibly more important than AV, you need to stay on top of your Windows updates. The worst attacks generally come from running unpatched software. Set your OS to update automatically, weekly if possible, and don't put off updates if they require a reboot more than a day or so. Make sure any software you use is also updated regularly, too.

Keep your systems and software updated, maintain AV on your Windows box, don't click on suspicious links or open suspicious emails, don't download off shady websites, and you'll likely never have a problem with bad actors and malicious software.
 
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I used to use Norton when I was working, but found it cumbersome, especially the virus definition updates. In fairness, this was around 25 years ago; perhaps it is not an issue at present. In the late '90's, I switched to Avast antivirus as it had a good reputation, small but effective daily virus updates and best of all, a free version. I've had no problems since I've been using it. It's caught and isolated many viruses on my computers, and was particularly helpful at stopping malware on my sons computers as they were growing up.
 
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As a Mac user for over 25 years I have never felt the need for Anti Virus software. My mother-in-law has put it on her Mac against my advise, and always experiences far more virus like glitches.
 
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Windows 10 & 11 both have Windows Defender anti-virus/malware software as well as a builtin firewall which is in addition to the hardware firewall in routers.

Nothing more is needed other than keeping the Windows Updates running to keep the security and antivirus tools updated.

Norton and others really have no meaningful value added.
 
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I have had by far the most problems with Norton AV interferring with the normal running of applications. What I use is Comodo free version and Clamwin which is also free along with the free version of Wise Registry Cleaner (Trojans often are planted in the registry in Windows and this architecture makes Windows particularly vulnerable).

The Mac OS is a much more modern operating system than Windows which dates back to NT3.51 released in 1995. Windows is not efficient in its use of computer resources and long ago Microsoft engineers decided the fix was to allow drivers and devices to directly address the kernel. This is why there has been the long history of Blue Screen of Death experiences by users and why pluging in a device in a USB port can crash a computer.

Windows computers are more expensive than Apple computers when you add up the third party anti virus and anti Trojan and Spyware applications and the amount of time spent in basic maintenance of the computer. The Apple hardware is more expensive and most people do not look past the initial sticker price. In the long run the Apple OS has proven its worth and is now used on more than 90% of personal computer devices.
 
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The answer really depends on your usage. Windows comes with inbuilt firewall and antivirus. This is all you need if general web browsing. However if you go to warez sites or X sites then something stronger like Norton would be better. I just use the inbuilt Windows security software along with a VPN when travelling.
 
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