McAfee has just launched McAfee Internet Security Protection and Family Protection for the Mac. Conventional wisdom says Macs are inherently secure, and malware rarely targets Apple platforms. But is conventional wisdom wrong? Here are some perspectives plus more details on McAfee's Mac security efforts.
The McAfee suite includes SideAdvisor, which helps protect against malicious websites, browser exploits and also gives a tip when e-commerce sites have been scanned of potential security risks, like phishing scams. Additionally, there is two-way firewall protection so that all data that comes in an out of the Mac is blocked it from potential hackers. Adding to that is "Advanced Malware Scanning" which removes spyware, malware, viruses that are both Windows and Mac related.
The software currently runs on Mac OS X 10.5 and up and McAfee is slating it for a $79.99 price tag, USD. You can check it out here.
The protection is two fold, however, with McAfee Family Protection, which is essentially Big Brother for your Mac. McAfee sites this statistic...
According to a recent survey by McAfee and Harris Interactive, 55 percent of 13-17 year olds said that they hide what they do online from their parents and 36 percent said they would change their online behavior if they knew their parents were watching. Just as with the PC version, McAfee Family Protection for Mac is designed to give parents a way to protect and monitor their children when using the Internet.Of course, not all the monitoring features need to be switched on (or have to be just for children), but the program runs the gamut of control. There's traditional web blocking, activity reports, notifications of requests to access blocked content, along with time limits on Internet usage.
Potential Opportunity for MSPs...
Some people who run Macintosh computers already use Mac OS X's built-in Parental Controls and / or subscribe to the general sentiment that Macintoshes don't get viruses, malware or other problematic software. But there is one little nugget that's worth noting here. If your customers are running Macs in a Windows environment, Macs can potentially carry .EXE files or other software that could inadvertently leak onto non-immune PCs over a network, or accidental transfer via USB drives, etc...Sign up for MSPmentor’s weekly Enewsletter, Webcasts and Resource Center. And follow us via RSS, Facebook, Identi.ca; and Twitter. Plus, check out more MSP voices at www.MSPtweet.com.
