Do I need anti-virus software for my mac?

[naniemcz]

I'm thinking about taking on a contracting job as a Social media search consultant. Basically all day I will be plugging in keywords, performing searches and writing reports on what different input delivers, how relevant the sites/info is, ect. One of the requirements of the company is to have anti-virus software, because i will be searching hundreds of common and uncommonly searched keywords. I've consistently heard that you don't need anti-virus for macs but if this is a requirement for this job what should i get? I read about ClamXAv, which is nice because it's free, but will this protect my computer from viruses i might come across during my searches?

Not sure if this info is relevant or not but i have a 2010 macbook pro, Mac OS X 10.8 - Mountain Lion

Any suggestions?

[Coad]

Certain media search consultants will at times, require that you venture out to sites in which you normally do not tread. Antivirus Software would be a good idea when polling such sites. On the other hand, Mac OS X versions 10.6.7 and later have built-in detection of known Mac malware in downloaded files. As long as you have the latest updates, you should be fine.

Most PC and Mac users would always rather be safe than sorry. Here are a list of antivirus programs compatible with Mac:

http://antivirus.about.com/od/macantivir...ws-Mac.htm

[SPYDERBLADE]

Do it for 2 reasons. The first being that they require it, and the second is that you probably don't want your computer infected in any case.

[Daniel W]

There are a lot of antivirus products available for the Mac. Personally, I would suggest ESET Cyber Security for Mac. The latest version is compatible with Mac OS X 10.8 and uses the same award-winning antivirus engine as its Windows product only with added heuristics and Virus Signatures specific to Mac. You can download a free trial here:

http://www.eset.com/us/download/home/det...29/?trl=ec

[Rich]

At-least Mac doesn't need any antivirus....That's not to say it's impossible to create a virus that could bring down a Mac; it's just more difficult than with Windows, because of the nature of OS X and its security model.

http://technical-support-squad.blogspot....urity.html

[Caren]

Hi,

I don't think you need antivirus because Mac is one of the safest OS, less chance affected by virus. But, if you believe that prevention is better than cure than you can keep i-Antivirus.