Like a vaccine, security software keeps you safe and helps protect the community. Do you make sure you always have it installed?
Mac users can be famously prickly and defensive about the merits of their computers, and while that’s a bit of cliché, the person I spoke to did nothing to dispel that impression.
Years ago Macs were safe from malware – the user base was small and, the thinking went, there were much richer pickings on the then much less secure Windows platform.
Malware and other threats
But Windows has got increasingly secure, especially with Windows 11. Meanwhile there now most definitely is malware and threats for Macs – despite measures such as the ‘walled-garden’ Apple App Store, where software is rigorously vetted before being allowed on it.
Mobile devices are also threatened. Apple recently pushed out an emergency update to patch a critical
vulnerability in iPhones and iPads that had been used to compromise the phones of dissidents, journalists and human rights activists.
Android, like Windows, has got safer over the years. So long as you keep your phone/tablet up to date and only install apps from the Google Play Store, there’s only a small chance you’ll run into trouble on an Android device. But there certainly is malware for Android, and there’s no guarantee you won’t accidentally pick up an infection.
Covid comparisons
The conversation with the Mac user reminded me of often fraught discussions about vaccinations for Covid and other diseases.
We have vaccinations not only to protect ourselves, but also to protect the community. It’s the same with antivirus. It protects your device (Mac, PC, iPad, Android phones and tablets) and helps keep the community safer from malware.
If all devices have antimalware, it cuts the amount of malware circulating and the software also gathers telemetry – data about a device’s configuration and the threats it encounters. That data feeds back into making antivirus better.
Do you have antivirus software installed on your PC, Mac, tablet or other devices? If not, what’s putting you off? Let us know in the comments.
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