How long until AntiVirus Software for Mac becomes a necessity?

I have used Macs since 1992, during that time there was much malware. Mostly traveling from one Mac to another on a floppy.. the most common would do simple things like changing file icons and messing with other resource fork data. Last I checked there was a couple hundred total malware count for the classic Mac OS, by Mac OS 9 there were around 69... the majority were ported viruses that attacked Microsoft Office applications.

Since the beginning of my computer experience, I have never used Anti-Virus. I had installed Norton 360 in 2002-2003 for a short time, but only for it's other services like its defragmenter... with 10.3, Norton 360 became unstable and acting more like malware itself, doing things like constantly popping up error messages all over the screen. That was the last time I used Norton or any other similar product... or even defragged my system.

With Mac OS X, there have been quite a few attacks, around 12 known Trojans, 3-4 botnets, 1 worm, many Quicktime and Java hacks.. However, Apple has always had an update process that sends out small minor fixes in rapid cycles. In most cases, a known vulnerability is fixed in about week. Apple, since 10.4, has been developing a whole new security infrastructure in Mac OS X that it has barely brought to light. In 10.6, this system was updated with a AV feature which checks for known Mac OS X malware, having a database it checks offline (located in /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle) and online.

At this point, I don't plan on using an AV on my Macs in the near or visible future. I see little need in wasting CPU cycles and memory for a service and market based on FUD.

You will never need virus protection because a platform is popular. It depends on how secure they make it. Right now, OS X is built on Unix which is extremely secure. I believe that Mac users will never have to worry as much as Windows users when it comes to viruses, because OS X is a more secure operating system.

Now! If you are thinking of getting protection for you Mac then you should. Though not many viruses are out there deliberately trying to attack your computer but if you are visiting sites and you are unsure of you may be at risk. Right now the trend in virus are in online Flash games. People of all ages and any OS play on them and it's a perfect environment for a hacker.

It's not necessary at this time, there are no viruses for OSX. Some people say there are but no one has ever produced evidence of any viruses when asked to do so.

It's already as necessary as in Windows machines, and depends of the sites that you visit and what you download.

I'm a Mac tech/support person and yep there are some out there. Not sure I've seen any real problems from them though. For sure free music downloads with certain problems have them. Still not a bad idea to be proactive. I have Sophos but what else is out there besides Norton? Haven't checked into it for a while.

They are needed. there are many infections for the mac. At my college we have some mac systems in the library and most of them are infected beyond use due to random malware causing random ads and redirects and extreme slowness.

While in many cases a virus scan may not stop an infection, but for a public computer, it is better to have it than not.

they DO need AV software now! what you are saying is that there are no viruses for macs now, therefore i dont need one... but the second some one writes one your computer is no longer safe...

i'm sorry if i come off kinda hard and very upset that some one can claim that macs dont need AV software but they do. its rather ignorant and arrogant to say otherwise...

A couple years back, Steve Jobs was recommending antivirus software for Macs but has since changed his tune. I think that as long as Apple keeps on top of security issues that it may not ever be completely necessary to install one. That being said, it still wouldn't hurt to have one. I would not pay for one though, in many cases free AV works just as good as paid AV. Slightly irrelevant example: Microsoft has a free AV called Security Essentials and in my experiences it has performed as good or better than Norton 360 for virus protection. But, Norton's other features almost make it worth blowing 70 bucks a year for the 360 version. You can also find these features in other programs though.

Once there are more businesses adopting the mac into there work environment than their will be more and more viruses for the mac