[Kooler]

I just got my first MacBook Pro back from an Apple Executive Support person. She was good, but was unable to give me advice in this area. She said a lot of my software problems were caused from poor maintenance of the computer, possible viruses, etc. Sine I have never owned a Mac before this one, that was my "main" question from the very first day i started looking at applestore.com, dealing with applecare after i received the notebook, the local Apple Store, this Executive Support person, and many posts on various forums.

I am use to keeping a notebook as "clean" as possible (but the Dell, Sony, Microsoft based OS computers). With the mac, I was basically told; "NO, do not install any virus protection, it is a waste and you do not need it. Stay away from the firewalls like Zone-Alarm, the McAfee and Norton type products.

I was told to read a couple articles which I did and they basically said to keep the updates current (well, duh, it happens automatically, clean the cache, do something with the Disk Utility (which I never understood), open up Safari and clean-out all the saved stuff, cookies, etc. (which is a drag because i loose my usernames and pass codes every time.

Since the problems (as far as the software end goes) came from my LACK of attending to this, is there anybody who can tell me what I need to do other than educate myself. I even had a Microsoft-type virus that landed on the desktop and was not doing an y major damage but was messing with my touch-pad. (that is what the local Apple Store told me. She had it go there before going back to the Apple headquarters for the hardware work.

Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to make sure you understood what I am needing.

Thanks

[bastion]

Kooler said:

I just got my first MacBook Pro back from an Apple Executive Support person. She was good, but was unable to give me advice in this area. She said a lot of my software problems were caused from poor maintenance of the computer, possible viruses, etc. Sine I have never owned a Mac before this one, that was my "main" question from the very first day i started looking at applestore.com, dealing with applecare after i received the notebook, the local Apple Store, this Executive Support person, and many posts on various forums.

I have no idea what an "Apple Executive Support" person is, but I wouldn't take seriously anyone who brought up the idea today that viruses were causing any significant problem for any Mac user.

Quote

I am use to keeping a notebook as "clean" as possible (but the Dell, Sony, Microsoft based OS computers). With the mac, I was basically told; "NO, do not install any virus protection, it is a waste and you do not need it. Stay away from the firewalls like Zone-Alarm, the McAfee and Norton type products.

Agree. Especially anything with "Norton" or "Symantec" in the name. Today, the best defense a Mac has against malware is a user who exercises a modicum of common sense. Don't run apps that show up unexpectedly in our mail, even if they appear to come from people you know. Don't download random software from sources that have no accountability. Especially don't pirate software, because half of the things claiming to be MS Office installers aren't.

Quote

I was told to read a couple articles which I did and they basically said to keep the updates current (well, duh, it happens automatically, clean the cache, do something with the Disk Utility (which I never understood), open up Safari and clean-out all the saved stuff, cookies, etc. (which is a drag because i loose my usernames and pass codes every time.

Mostly overkill.

Quote

Since the problems (as far as the software end goes) came from my LACK of attending to this, is there anybody who can tell me what I need to do other than educate myself. I even had a Microsoft-type virus that landed on the desktop and was not doing an y major damage but was messing with my touch-pad.

Nonsense.

[dougster]

-Hi,

No need for virus software on your Mac. And I doubt the Apple tech found a virus. As far as maintenance you can clean out cache and old log files. No need to trash any cookies unless you have a particular site thats having a hiccup. Then trash that ONE site's cookie. Sometimes they can get corrupt, but not often. Take a peek at OnyX for some of your maintenance tasks. Every now and then run Repair Permissions in your Utilities folder--> Disk Utility app. And just be careful which 3rd party software you install. If you don't need it don't install it. Often times its software that is NOT written well that can cause your OS to run funky... :D

[icerabbit]

" ... She said a lot of my software problems were caused ... "

Maintenance on a Mac? Issues without these additional softwares mentioned actually installed? There may have been some confusion in the conversation. Or maybe you did have something installed that slowed things down. Anyhow.

Most unlikely your system had a virus.

Safari is pretty safe as a browser. You can run into sites that try to exploit something but that code is not compatible with OSX or Safari (only with IE Windows). Browsing wise you may like to use Safari as a general browser and set up FireFox as a secondary - or vice versa - to purges all cookies, cache, history, ... upon closing. Or if you are familiar with FireFox use that as a primary browser, since it does offer some additional features.

Maintenance. Macs will run fine for years without "maintenance" like you may be familiar with in Windows.
Software update on OS X is a breeze and far less annoying than Vista. Many people delay updating by a few weeks to avoid update woes. The updates are less critical than on the windows side and from time to time there can be an (isolated) issue for a particular machine or component arising from an update, which then gets fixed in the next update. You can pretty safely do the updates once a month, I would say.

My general recommendation for people is to only install programs they need. That helps to keep things lean & fast.

I second others regarding there being a limited need to buy AntiVirus and Firewall software.

OS X has an adequate firewall built-in that will only open ports for services you enable. If you work behind a router (or corporate network) external access is locked there too. I am not aware of public over the air exploits if you were to use your mac at a wifi hotspot.

AntiVirus? Only if you have a lot of documents shared back and forth with Windows systems, I would look into AntiVirus software. Windows viruses will not affect your notebook as their code will not run, but you can pass a virus on. Office document viruses can be an issue.

MacWorld has some nice articles online that cover these topics.

[macnuke]

there isn't anything that is going to hurt you as far as virus/etc.

run one of the FREE AV apps if you are worried about that.

MAINTENANCE>...... often overlooked and the #1 cause of slowdowns etc.


Diskwarrior is my fav and prolly the best for maintenance.

get it. run it.

RAM.. get all you can afford in it.
HD.. make sure you have some free space.. they really have probs when they hit close to full.

[Kooler]

I was having so many odd issues that I did not know how to fix (other than the cracked LCD, which gradually spread like a cracked windshield which I paid the Executive Apple lad $1000 to fix and she said on its way back to me, she will have it get looked at for software issues, backed-up first, and finally sent back to me). I got absolutely nowhere from Applecare except they had me rename my Home icon which made that whole account go somewhere neither of us could find. So another Applecare tech had me create another Home and moved all my contents into this new account. They told me never to delete the other account. Was way too complex for me and apparently the Applecare people.



The Apple Store people were able to fix the renaming of the Home account and get one account back, which freed up some space. The Apple tech guy said he just did some "Spring Cleaning" and everything seems to be OK. The Website that landed me on a page that looked like the 4th of July and was doing all kinds of tests on my computer was a virus but did not hurt anything or "make it past the downloader and desktop.'



I would like to finally install Fusion so I can use my fitness and nutrition programs for a parttime job but since I am now hearing that XP is not the way to go, I am unsure which OS to get that will allow me to run the programs that were on the XP work computer.

I will end the security issues by saying that the Executive Support person did tell me that she could not recommend a specific product, but she did know that Norton was sold in the AppleStore.com.



Thanks for all the help. I appreciate it. Any suggestions on a device that I can use to charge and use my MBP in my car while on a road trip? I got a new Honda Fit and there is a USB cable in the glove compartment and a 120W outlet that use to be the cigarette lighter and next to that a single hole where I would try to plug a headset, but not sure what it is for. I have never seen how the iPods are charged beside seeing the dock that is in most everything at Costco. :-)



I checked RadioShack.com and I think those might be a bit too big and no cable. The ones at the applestore.com I have no idea if they will work except for a Kensighnton device that should work. However, if I can use the USB cable in the glove compartment that would be awesome.

[icerabbit]

To charge and / or use any electronic device that depends on AC power, purchase a DC / AC inverter. I have used a couple of them for years for road trips and travel. It litterally is the end to buying proprietary and / or costly car adapter cables. I use hours for AA battery chargers, camera charging, laptop charging ... and if the unit is powerfull enough you can charge and use the notebook.

They exist in the 75 - 150 Watt range and can be a single unit, without wires and very bulky brick you have to put somewhere in the car.

Mine is of this type / style / brand (quick google) http://www.jr.com/wa...ch/pe/WGN_2221/



For the problems with your notebook. Rather than paying for services and suffering through remaining issues. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and start from scratch. Of course make sure you have a backup of your documents, files, etc and do a clean install. (more often needed in windows than os x) An alternative to that would be to create a new user profile and go forward with that.

[Kooler]

not sure how you insert some of a post that is in italics, but in dougster's reply, this recommendation does not mean anything to me; "Every now and then run Repair Permissions in your Utilities folder--> Disk Utility app."

I open Disk Utility and on the far left there are 2 HD icons, one has a long alphanumeric string AFTER IT AND THE ONE BELOW just has Mac HD. If this maintenance is something I should be doing (how often), do you mind expounding on that a bit more?

As far as OnyX, I have nit looked at that yet but is that a program you recommend for spring cleaning type stuff?

Thanks

[Kooler]

when I got the MBP I went down to the apple authorized store and upgraded to 4 GB of RAM. Little did I know at that time, but I got ripped because apparently there is a speed for the RAM. 2 days later I go to their website and see the same RAM I paid per stick was 1/4 the price I paid. I called them and they said it went down in price since mine was installed. So when you say, get all the RAM you can are you saying get 4 GB and the fastest speed? The 2 sticks I purchased were the same speed that the one, 2 GB stick I got with the MBP was (600mz, or something like that).

I did get the largest HD when I configured the MBP, and I am not sure how to tell how much I have used and how much is free.

thanks.

[Kooler]

so Macnuke, Diskwarrior is $100! I get confused when someone suggests a Program that costs that and other people say you do not need anything. I would get it if it was suggested by all that I need a security or maintenance program but than everybody would have their favorite. However, this is like most people say you do not need it then someone comes along and says I should get a program that cost $100 for maintenance.

[macnuke]

those that go thru life with only Apple Disk Utilities usually have stories/posts of things that have gone terribly wrong.

[PeterG]

Kooler,

I'm with the others. I use OnyX, Disk Utility-Repair Disk Permissions, and I also have/use DiskWarrior.

I think you have to look at computers like cars, or something that'll need some sort of maintenance.

Heck, use your own body, it needs a shower now and then. lol.

I hit the HD in Disk Utility and Repair Disk Permissions before I load something new onto my computer, if it's real big I'll do more. Why, to give it a better place to load to. Then hit it again after the load just in case something needs to be corrected.

And DiskWarrior, I use, if stuff just doesn't seem to be working right. No hesitation.

There really isn't to much to get confused about. If you maintain your computer (keep it healthy) it should last a bit longer. I'm not saying it'll last for ever, but with regular backups (I have an external HD), regular maintenance (like the car) you don't have to get confused. If you do, come here and the geeky guys above, (I'm not one) will help you out.
They're the ones that got me to buy the External HD and backup, run Disk Utility, Onyx and now and then DiskWarrior. They've saved my bacon from something stupid I've done. It's just worth it.

Peter