Macbook Pro Protection
Apple 17-Inch Macbook Pro Versus 17-Inch Sony Vaio Vgn-Ar790U/B
Whether we choose to admit it or not, everyone loves to watch a battle of epic proportions played out in the media. Think of the hype surrounding the Ali V Frazier fight. Alien V Predator movie. England V Germany football match, and finally the 17-inch MacBook Pro Versus the 17-inch Sony VAIO VGN-AR790U/B.
Let me tell you straight off the bat this article is designed to provoke debate. I'm going to try and explore the benefits of choosing a Mac over a PC, or a PC over a Mac. No doubt this will swell the battle lines of both camps and hopefully fuel spin off articles and discussions in many of the IT related forums.
I'm going to post my colours to the mast and admit I'm a PC user. However a great number of my friends and business associates are die hard Mac users, including my mate Rob.
I've often heard Mac computers being referred to as having the Marmite syndrome, i.e. you either love them or you hate them. I am however conscious that approximately 95% of the graphic and web designers that I commission work with utilise Mac products. I take great pleasure when working with Rob at the PC One Stop Shop design office for long sessions to hear him singing the praises of a Mac over a PC. He seems duty bound to inform me that Macs are incredibly reliable and rarely crash. After working with him on both sides of the Atlantic for over twelve years I admit to being bored witless about Mac's reliability. But I do smile the other side of my face when his Mac notebook crashes and he has to eat his words.
Frequently Asked Questions
QUESTION:
if i get a macbook pro whats the best virus protection for a macbook pro?
whats the best virus protection for macbook pro i was told if i put kaspersky it would be hard for it to catch virusis is this true. if not whats the best virus protection i should download to prevent it. i also download movies music so and getting ready for college i dont want to mess it up plz tell me what i can downloadANSWER:
Macbooks are safe from 99% of viruses, so you wont need a virus protector. and besides, you cant get viruses (on a PC) unless your a complete idiot. i havnt had a virus protector for years and my computer has never gotten a virus.
QUESTION:
Do I need virus protection for my Macbook Pro?
Just bought a brand new Macbook Pro from Apple last night. I know Macs are pretty virus resistant, so is it really worth getting virus protection? I look at porn sometimes, so is it worth getting antivirus software?ANSWER:
Apple recommends that Mac users install antivirus on their Macs. Also, Macs are NOT virus resistant AT ALL... it's just that most viruses are designed for Windows. There are still lots of Mac viruses out there.
QUESTION:
Do I need to buy internet protection for my MacBook Pro?
I just bought a MacBook Pro and was wondering if I needed to buy internet protection for it. Does it come with any? If I do need to, is there somewhere I can get it for free? I haven't gotten it in the mail, yet, but I was curious. Thank you!ANSWER:
Um...Mac's can't get virus's if that's what you mean by protection. If you mean so people can't spy on you then it should come with some. Just buy a pc they pwn so hard.
QUESTION:
Macbook Pro protection against viruses?
I have a Macbook and it has the Lion update but I was wondering if there is a program I can use to make sure no viruses get to it. Is Mackeeper worth buying? I just want to know what I can do to protect my lap top as much as possible. Thanks!ANSWER:
Do not buy any anti-virus app. The free ones do exactly the same -- that is, they find no OS X viruses... because there are none so far. People (including blog writers) who claim some news about an OS X virus are confusing worms and Trojans with viruses.Definitions:
-- virus: app that attaches itself to another app and can self-replicate.
-- worm: app that is unattached, self-replicating, self-sending (via network or attached disk).
-- Trojan horse: app that appears to be desirable, but is not.It is not merely that there are fewer Mac computers that accounts for no known OS X viruses. Think about this for a moment: If there are already a million known viruses for Windows, but no known viruses for OS X, and you were an attention-starved teenage bad guy, wouldn't you be trying like mad to get headlines by making an OS X virus? You can be sure they are trying their best. OS X has several layers of built-in protection that keep the system files unharmed. This is true also for Linux. It is not true for Windows, and the results are obvious. If there were any real relationship between the number of viruses for a system type and the market share, we would have this ratio of viruses for Linux, OS X, and Windows: 1 / 9 / 99, because there are 9 times as many OS X system in use as Linux, and there are 11 times as many Windows systems in use as OS X. In fact, the real ratio of viruses is 0 / 0 / 1,000,000. The math has failed for these PC geeks who hate Apple.
There have never been any true OS X viruses, but there have been a few worms and Trojans -- only the most recently discovered one is still lurking about. Even though a Trojan isn't a virus, it is designed to trick you into doing something, such as paying by credit card for some fraud, and that is no fun even if OS X is still unaffected. Your money will be affected. The latest malware definitions in any of the anti-virus apps can find and remove a Trojan from your computer if you happen to install one.
Free: ClamXAV, Sophos, or iAntiVirus (last requires OS 10.5 or later, and Intel).
Pay: Virex, Norton, Intego, MacScan, Avast.
Tracking cookies are a significant annoyance with Safari. They aren't malicious. They just watch your every move online. The best software for getting rid of tracking cookies is MacScan. The new version is US.95; if you can find version 2.6 (no longer on their site), it is free and malware profiles updates are free -- skip the MacScan engine update; that cancels your free use. In fact, if you remove all cookies in the Safari preferences, you will have removed any tracking cookies as well. The advantage of MacScan is you don't loose the cookies you want, such as your identity on your web-based email site or forums or items in a shopping cart at some retail site.
One other type of cookie is Flash cookies. You have to remove them manually. They are at:
/Users /homefolder /Library /Preferences /Macromedia /Flash Player /#SharedObjects/9H4TGGSV (last location name will vary).After you do all the scanning routines to get rid of tracking cookies and rare but possible other bad stuff, start using Firefox with NoScript installed, uncheck the option to allow third-party cookies (prevents most of the tracking cookies), uncheck the option to allow Java when not playing games online (different from Javascript which you likely wouldn't want to disallow as almost all sites rely on it), be sure the built-in OS X firewall is on (off by default!!! Naughty Apple!!!), set the advanced options of the firewall to use "Stealth Mode" and to "Block UDP Traffic", use a hardware router even if you use only one computer on your network, don't keep Personal File Sharing / Windows Sharing / Personal Web Sharing / Remote Login checked when you don't absolutely need to use them, use wired ethernet instead of Wi-Fi during any secure data exchange such as online banking or CC purchase, when you do use Wi-Fi, set a WPA or WPA-2 password and choose to make the network hidden, never open any email from someone you don't recognize, and never open an attachment unless you were expecting it.
Some secondary means of security are available at http://macscan.securemac.com/
QUESTION:
Is it worth it to get the AppleCare Protection Plan when purchasing a Macbook Pro?
I am planning on buying a Macbook Pro for a price of ,144.00 and was wondering if it would be a good idea to buy the AppleCare Protection Plan for 3.00. Also would that cover accidental damage?ANSWER:
You are covered under your warranty for one year after that is when the AppleCare kicks in, yet buying it now costs to much and saving you some change is better at this time. So up to the week before your warranty expires buy the AppleCare if you want also during that time there are sales for the AppleCare.PBCentral gives a good review to compare do you need it or not.
http://www.pbcentral.com/columns/hildreth_moore/applecare.shtmlLastly when we buy computers from any company for any individual we request that they run the unit for 30 days straight. Does that mean throughout the day as well as long as they are able we do it, the reasoning behind this is to know if you have a lemon. I could go on yet that was not your question at this time.
