Apple's own antivirus software does a lot to keep your Mac safe from viruses and malware, but is Apple's built-in antivirus enough? Can you use it to scan for viruses and do you need more protection?

Apple’s Macs are seen as more secure than Windows PCs, but they can still get viruses. Should you protect yours with an antivirus app? We asked the experts.

I’ve lost track of the number of times Mac users have told me Macs don’t need virus protection because the machines are inherently more robust against such attacks.

We cover this in a separate article: Do Macs need Antivirus software? One of these protections is Xprotect. Xprotect is Apple’s built-in malware protection.

Q:Does a Macintosh computer need antivirus software? I have asked several Mac users and they said no. A friend of mine is an Apple developer and he also said my Mac does not need virus protection ...

Tight security aside, Mac users need protection too. One study showed Macs getting infected at a higher rate than PCs. That could well be due to Mac’s long-standing reputation for resisting malware.

UPDATE: Jun. 22, 2024, 1:21 p.m. EDT We've updated this story to remove Kaspersky, following plans for the US government to ban the software. You've probably heard that Macs don't need antivirus ...

This question keeps dropping into the Hardware 2.0 mailbox in one form or another: "Do I need to run antivirus on my Mac?" Yes. Yes you do. Next question.

Do Mac OS X users really need antivirus? ZDNet.com.au recently posed the question to security professionals at the AusCERT 2009 IT security conference on the Gold Coast.

And Macs really do have some stellar built-in tools that protect you right off the bat. For example, when you download an app off the internet, your Mac checks it against a list of known malware ...