"Which is the best Anti-virus for Macintosh? Which one are you using? What's your experience about that product?"

I don't use any anti-virus software. But I have Clam installed.



"Which is the best Firewall for Macintosh? Which one are you using? Is it easy to configure like ZAP for Win32? Is it just a firewall? If so, then I need more products like Anti-spy, Anti-spam?"

I don't know how easy ZAP is but the best firewall for Mac OS is the BSD firewall that is built into the system. System Preferences -> Sharing -> Firewall -> Start (there is a list of ports to block or unblock below it).


"Which is the best CD/DVD burning utility for Macintosh? Is Nero available for Mac? If not, which one would be just like Nero or more than that in Mac?"

I don't know what I would need a burning utility for. Mac OS can burn CDs and DVDs out of the box, as well as open and create disk images, burn disk images and create disk images from a CD/DVD. There is also the Disk Utility.

You seem to think that one has to buy or download an awful number of utilities for a computer... You will find that this is not true or needed for a Mac.


"Which is the best Download Manager for Macintosh? Which one are you using? Why are you calling it the best?"

I use wget. I have set it up to simply download whatever I have listed in download.list in my home directory.



"Which is the best Mail Client for Macintosh? Which is your favorite one? Why do you like it?"

Apple Mail is. I know people who have bought a Mac just to use it for email. Mail supports POP/SMTP and IMAP and can import all sorts of email box formats, including standard mbox files.


"How can I use my PS2 keyboard (TVS Gold) in Macintosh?"

I have no idea.

Most of the apps that come with OSX are the best ones to use.

As for the PS/2 keyboard, there are PS/2-USB adapters all over the place.

Link

Burning Program | The best burning program is Toast Titanium.

Mail client ? The built in mail program works better than Thunderbird (my windows fav)

Anti virus ? I know there has been alot of security holes reported but just be aware of what you're clicking on and you'll have no problems.

And the built in firewall is pretty bullet proof. Your Mac price premium has to pay for something !

Is it just a firewall? If so, then I need more products like Anti-spy, Anti-spam?

If you don't have a habit of opening every shiny ad you see, chances are you won't ever have to deal with any spyware. Even if you do you'll probably be safe simply because most spyware isn't designed for the mac. That doesn't mean you should be utterly promiscuous when it comes to browsing, but being different can be useful.

But if you feel a great need for anti-spam and anti-spyware as well as a even easier firewall you could fork out 50 bucks a year for Norton. I have to say though your money would be better spent on practically anything else.

The built-in firewall isn't the easiest thing to understand, but once you understand what the buttons do (and that you're better off leaving an option unticked if you don't use it) you should be fairly secure. Just make sure to keep up to date with Software Update and you'll be fine.

Burning Program | The best burning program is Toast Titanium

iDVD (a part of the iLife package) is quite good as well. It just depends on what you want to do. The native support for burning though is very capable and supports DVDs as well as CDs.

I agree.  I have had no need for Toast since OS X burns any kind of cd I want with no problems.

Be carefule dismissing the risk of virii and spyware on a Mac. It's there, just quiet.

A friend of mine has some well thought out (and long) posts on the subject that I think are worth reading. A google search for "security site:drunkenblog.com" is worht the time. Here's one to start you off: http://www.drunkenblog.com/drunkenblog-archives/000340.html

And yes, Mac users scare the absolute shite out of me when it comes to this stuff, simply because they've been conditioned by experience and, more egregiously, other Mac users gloating and actively encouraging them not to give a second thought to firewalls, viruses and malware, helping to create a passive, apathetic culture of clicky-clicky that in many ways makes them the scariest users of all.

AV - While there aren't many viruses out there for Mac yet, I generally load up Symantec AV on any box I'm worried about, Mac or Windows. Though it takes a lot of config work to get rid of annoying behaviors

Firewall - I use a combination of hardware firewall on my router and then the built-in firewall rules on the box. If you secure your router well enough, you don't need to worry quite so much about your box, especially if you're doing basic NAT on the router, attackers can't specifically target anything behind it.

CD Burning - The built-in OS burner functionality works great. Haven't needed anything else yet.

Mail - Mail.app is a great mail application (and comes with OS X). Sure it lacks all the widgets and gadgets that come in apps like Outlook, but it does mail exceedingly well. The rules, smart folders and spam filters are very well done and the interface is extremely clean and easy to use.

PS/2 Keyboard - While I'd generally suggest going for a newer USB keyboard, your PS/2 should work with a PS/2 -> USB converter. However, if you have any special programmable buttons (i.e. a web browser key etc), those will not work unless the manufacturer has OS X software available.

Be careful dismissing the risk of virii and spyware on a Mac. It's there, just quiet.

I wholeheartedly agree here! You probably won't see your purty litttle mac get infested, but your PC friends will feel so much better exchanging documents. I've personally seen the crazy effects of a 'macro virus'-infected MS Word document - on a Mac!

Just because virii normally can't affect your system directly, they can contaminate files and then wreak havoc on others' systems if passed on. A high priority for security is good practice on any system

Be careful dismissing the risk of virii and spyware on a Mac. It's there, just quiet.

True. But it's nowhere near the risk of a PC. As long as you have the firewall switched on and are reasonably careful in what you do (just like you should be on any machine) you should be okay. The main cause behind viral outbreaks on the internet is human stupidity, not flaws in the hardware.

OSX just has the advantage that safe browsing is a little easier; it's got some useful immunities. You can get an STD (stupidity transmitted disease) but you have to try that little bit harder.

The problem is more with the social engineering built into the Mac clan. (Disclaimer: I have a Power Mac G4)

"You don't need to worry about virii because:
1. "It's based on Linux. Linux is secure"
2. "It's not targetted because there's no makret/mindshare"
3. "Microsoft sux"
4. "Look how pretty it is. Virii don't like pretty things"
5. "Steve Jobs has the best taste in clothes."
6. "Did I mention the Linux and Microsoft stuff? Hey, have you tried this kool-ade? It's the best and it makes me feel good about myself. It makes me feel better than averyone else. I'm sorry, I can't hear you. My iPod is turned up raelly loud. Did you see my authorized iPod leather case? It really looks good with my black turtleneck and jeans."

Thanks everybody for your respective comments.

Now I'm trying to convert my PS/2 keyboard to USB keyboard by a PS/2 (Female) to USB (Male) converter. The converter I've is a generic converter -

and can convert PS2 mouse to USB. But, I'm using Microsoft USB mouse. So, no such converter is needed. What I need is a PS/2 to USB converter for keyboard and I think the following one would serve my purpose-

Thanks Adamness for the link. I shall try the converter. If works, then it's OK. Otherwise, I've to agree with Zoomba who has suggested me to buy a new USB Keyboard for Mac. Then I can try all the software/utilities you've suggested.
Thanks Sir Zubaz for the link. I would go through the topic you've referred to. It's true that the graphical interface of Mac is probably the best. Hope virii won't like any pretty things like Mac!!!