A frequent misunderstanding is that Macs are immune to viruses; however, this is not the case. Hackers can successfully attack MacBooks, iMacs, and Mac Minis, and they can all become infected with viruses and spyware.
Macs have traditionally been less vulnerable than Windows PCs because fraudsters have focused on designing malware for Windows devices, which dominate the market and give more opportunity. With Mac’s market share rising, fraudsters are targeting Apple products more.
People use ‘virus’ to mean any malware. The majority of digital risks are malware, which can impact Macs. Malware can cause annoying pop-up advertising and ransomware. Mac users can still encounter spam and phishing emails, browser vulnerabilities, and identity theft, but macOS can stop malware from propagating.
Macs provide security features such as a firewall to prevent online threats, but they do not include antivirus software in the traditional sense. Apple, on the other hand, offers various anti-malware measures.