Educause Security Discussion mailing list archives

Re: Malware (antivirus) software for Macintosh


From: "Everett, Alex D" <alex.everett () UNC EDU>
Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 20:50:34 +0000

Louis:

Maybe I am misreading this, but Apple Updates did not offer protection in time, though patching is of course sound 
advice.
A Java vulnerability was not patched until after exploitation took place.
We did have good experience with anti-malware software if the user had it already installed.
We had poor experience with network security mitigation technologies.

References:
https://www.securelist.com/en/analysis/204792227/The_anatomy_of_Flashfake_Part_1

Sincerely,

Alex Everett, CISSP, CCNA
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC

On May 17, 2012, at 4:01 PM, Louis APONTE wrote:

Hi

McAfee antimalware here, I have to say keeping your Mac software updates current was primary protection vector we saw 
for Flashback. As Apple released the two or three OS patches we installed asap. I am saying its best to do both in 
tandem for best results set OS updates to daily and install automatically as a service for your Mac users, and have AV 
of one kind or another. Very few of our users disagree with this approach.



On 5/17/2012 at 01:17 PM, in message <99589267-1F4D-430C-ACE0-5E75F39521D5 () uvm 
edu<mailto:99589267-1F4D-430C-ACE0-5E75F39521D5 () uvm edu>>, Dean Williams <dean.williams () UVM 
EDU<mailto:dean.williams () UVM EDU>> wrote:
A rash of Flashback infections has us thinking about mal ware protection for our Macintoshes.  Is anyone using a 
product that you’d recommend (or recommend against!)?   If you are supporting mal ware protection for your Macintoshes, 
is the impact on system performance acceptable?   Is it effective in preventing or at least detecting infections?  Are 
updates timely?  Is it affordable?

Thanks for any experience or insight you can share.

Dean Williams, GSLC
Information Security Officer
Enterprise Technology Services
University of Vermont
Dean.Williams () uvm edu<mailto:Dean.Williams () uvm edu> | 802-656-1174
http://www.uvm.edu/it/








Sincerely,

Alex Everett, CISSP, CCNA
Information Security Office
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
919.445.9393


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