Anti-Virus on non-Windows platforms

On Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 20:58, Aaron Bartell <aaronbartell@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

One thing I forgot to mention was the fact that I don't run any anti-virus
software on my Linux desktop (do I need it? I don't know. ÂFrom what I have
read there isn't nearly as much need for it as on Windows).

On OS X, it's a good idea. Malware is starting to spread. Several
trojan horses have been packaged together with unlicensed copies of
iWork and Photoshop. Now, you might say that you do not use unlicensed
software, but this is just the start. OS X is getting more popular,
and Apple still hasn't implemented important security technologies
like ASLR, which make reliable exploits harder.

On Linux, it's not needed yet, nor are there any good solutions
available. But this will change the more popular it becomes. Linux
already has good security with ASLR and similar technologies, and most
distributions have cryptographically secured packages, which OSX still
lacks.

ÂAmazing how
much CPU power you get back when you don't have software that checks every
document before you open it and all incoming and outgoing communications.

If your anti-malware package gives you performance issues, you'll
either need to get current (Dual Core CPUs should be the bare minimum
on a desktop, much less on a developer workstation where a good quad
core is the minimum we use), or switch to an anti-malware package
which doesn't suck (my company uses Forefront Client Security, and i
use Microsoft Security Essentials at home).