PCTools offers free antivirus for Mac
Mac users think they are invulnerable to viruses and spyware. While Windows based malware may pass up a Mac there are threats to OSX out there. Although the most recent one may have been overblown in proportion that’s no reason to not have protection.
Intego reported two security threats targeting Mac OSX recently though there was some confusion about what it was. The first threat identified as OSX.TrojanKit.Malez was reported by Sophos to be a Trojan horse. This same piece of malware was identified back in August and was labeled a “low risk” by Intego.
Turns out that it is still a low risk. Sophos got things wrong and issued a correction. The other threat is being called a variant of the RSPlug Trojan Horse. Some wires may have gotten crossed somewhere because some thought these threats were related. They are not.
OSX.TrojanKit.Malez is a tool for hackers. RSPlug Trojan Horse is a piece of malware all by itself that downloads and installs components needed to execute its nefarious activities.
While these threats may not be the grandiose types seen on Windows, they should be taken seriously. As Macs get more popular, expect more threats and know that OSX is not as secure as Apple or its users may believe.
Which brings me to the point that there is now a free antivirus/spyware scanner for Mac OSX. Bringing the total of free security suites to two. The other would be ClamXav but I’m not completely sold on its effectiveness from an “active” standpoint.
The one problem with ClamXav is that any folder you wish to actively protect must be manually added to be scanned and only when a file is downloaded, at that. It does have a good effective “on-demand” scanner. It’s possible to do better.
I know some of you out there are groaning right now about how you don’t need or want any antivirus software for your Mac. Any computer or any network is at risk for infection no matter how low the threat may be. Plus, I’m paranoid and I’m hopping it will rub off on you.
PCTools offers two versions of iAntivirus for Mac OSX. The free version includes protection from various forms of malware, viruses, worms and trojans plus spyware and adware removal. Despite claims to the contrary it does include real time defense and smart updates. What good would any antivrus software be without updates?
The paid version gets you commercial use, phone and email support for $30. The free version cannot be used in a commercial or business capacity.
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November 24th, 2008
Hi,
I’m the guy behind ClamXav and I found your site via a Google Alert.
Could you elaborate on the following comment please: “The one problem with ClamXav is that any folder you wish to actively protect must be manually added to be scanned and only when a file is downloaded, at that.”
I don’t quite understand what you mean. I’m always looking for ways to improve my app, so any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Mark
PS. If you do reply here, could you also email it to me please?
November 24th, 2008
I have Norton on my mac and it never picks up anything. I don’t mean that it isn’t working, I mean that I don’t get viruses through on this machine.
November 25th, 2008
Mark, please understand that I’m not faulting ClamXav, it does what it was designed to do. However, unlike Spyware Doctor or other anti-malware systems the folder to be scanned for downloads must be added to ClamXav. Whereas I can configure the others to automatically scan all incoming files. Perhaps I missed something but ClamXav lacks this feature? If it’s in there, I missed it.