Viruses can come from a number of places, but most commonly are found in:
- ‘Dodgy’ websites
- Links in malicious emails
- Malicious files
- Other computers
In terms of data, viruses can be destructive:
There are viruses which ‘encrypt’ your files, and then force you to pay out to unencrypt them.
There are viruses which run resource heavy pseudo-Windows processes on your machine, which brings it running to a halt.
There are even viruses which can stop your computer from booting!
Anti-virus programs are generally updated daily, to make sure they can spot all the different types of viruses out there.
Do I need anti-virus on my Mac?
A lot of people say Macs can’t and don’t get viruses. This isn’t true – Macs can and do get viruses, though they’re not nearly as commonly seen as they are on Windows.
Macs can be ‘carriers’ of viruses – if there’s some malicious code hidden in a document on the Mac, and the Mac seems ok after accessing the document – what’s to say that same file will be safe when opened on a Windows PC?
For the reasons above, we would recommend having anti-virus installed on your Mac.
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