Best protection for antivirus/malware for MacBook Air

NONE - it is very rare for any Mac to get a virus, virus are not written to invade Macs

On 8/27/2014 Usedtobeoxox said:

NONE - it is very rare for any Mac to get a virus, virus are not written to invade Macs

ITA! Google this for details or call Apple & ask.

I completely disagree with the other posts. Years ago, Macs needed no protection because nobody was writing viruses for Macs. It's the 21st century, however, and sadly the bad guys have figured ways in via network breaches. Even Mac's built-in OS firewalls are not immune. I work in the tech field, so my personal and work Macs and those of my colleagues are all protected with Intego's "Virus Barrier," long known to be the best protection out there. (And by the way, Apple's own offices use Virus Barrier to protect their employees' Macs!)

Macs do NOT get viruses when it comes to OSX. However, Macs can become infected w/malware which is NOT a virus. Viruses & Malware, etc are totally different. To break it down for you:

Viruses:
Are programs that earn their name by their ability to replicate themselves locally & often across a network. Many attach themselves to to other programs. When you launch one of these programs, the virus code launches as well & the virus goes about its nefarious business.
Viruses are exceedingly rare on the Mac. There are no known viruses for OSX.

Trojans:
Promises one thing but delivers another. You can download a program but when you run the program, the contents of your computer are instead beamed to an underground data center in Kamchatka. If you obtain software from reliable sites, you are unlikely to get a Trojan horse.

Adware:
Has an embedded advertising component - one that displays or downloads ads when you run the software. Some adware is legitimate, part of the price of using a free program such as the Iconfactory's Twitterrific or Eudora for example.

Spyware:
Grabs data from your computer & ofen uses it for the purposes of evil, sending personal info to a baddie or when you're using your web browser, redirecting you to site you don't want to visit.

Mac users have nothing to worry about regarding Spyware & Adware because in order for the worse forms to work, the OS must allow unrestricted access to its more sensitive parts. The Mac OS doesn't.

Also check out the following: User Tip: Viruses, Trojans, Malware - and other aspects of Internet Security

I use iMacs, iPads and iPhones at my business and home. We don't use or need protection on the mobile devices, but we do use ClamXAV to scan on the iMacs.

A good thing to remember: Even though the overwhelming majority of malware doesn't target or affect Apple computers, sometimes you can pick something up in an email or a document and then pass it forward to someone who doesn't use an Apple computer, so in my opinion it's wise to follow safe computing rules and also to run some sort of scan on your Apple computer now and then.

I also have ClamXAV installed on my iMac and MacBook.