“ClamXav is a free virus checker for Mac OS X. It uses the very popular ClamAV open source antivirus engine to scan mail and attachments. As a testament to its effectiveness, Apple now bundles ClamAV with Mac OS X Server 10.4. Unfortunately for those who are not system administrators, ClamAV is a command line tool, so it isn’t user-friendly for the average Mac owner. That’s why Mark Allan developed ClamXav. It uses the powerful ClamAV engine and definitions, but adds a more accessible user interface,” François Joseph de Kermadec writes for MacDevCenter. The article by de Kermadec explains how to use ClamXav and also touches on whether or not Mac OS X users need antivirus software.
Full article here.
progeny wrote: “As far as passing viruses on to friends or family, common sense has prevented me from ever doing that”
Agreed. The only problem is that this “common sense” is not necessarily always present. It is also involves a bit of knowledge of how computers work. Your ‘Aunt Ethel’ may be a very sensible person, but she also might lack this “common sense”. It is this lack of “common sense” in the masses that’s making things more difficult for everyone… Would someone with common sense buy a Windows PC? Would a PC user with common sense allow their PC to become infected? I certainly know a lot of sensible people who use PCs by choice or because their work/school makes them.
Until the day we can make sure all of us have “common sense”, I for one will use an AVS on my Mac.
“did you guys know that apple is now offering Norton for .mac subscribers?”
Then how come it’s nowhere to be found on the .Mac website?
How exactly do these retards expect to “accidentally” pass on viruses to Windows users? Do they think that their Mac will randomly generate a virus and slip it into the email that they are composing? When they get an email advertising porn, do they forward it to their relatives and friends?
Virus protection on the Mac isn’t there for the benefit of the Mac user. It’s there for the benefit of the PC user, who gets an email from the Mac user saying, “Why won’t this file do anything? I’ve downloaded it, and clicked on the omghax.exe file, but nothing happens. What am I doing wrong?”
lol
Not Really:
Sorry, you are right, I didn’t check what a friend told me before posting. In fact, Apple is simply listing Norton among the software you could buy from their web store, but not bundling it with .mac, as the rumor was (to replace McAfee’s Virex).
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/70202/wo/l12s0KHxBf1v3LLgvgO1JHbQF6L/1.0.0.11.1.0.6.9.9.29.7.1
You folks need to stop referring to all PCs as Windows computers. Afterall, with OSX and all of Apple’s greatest moving over to Intel hardware, you will all be running PCs too before long. The only real distinction between a Mac and a PC is the hardware it runs on. Software is purely secondary–you could write your own OS for a Mac system if you wanted to just as you could for a PC.
Also, I find it disturbing that you all seem to think OSX is totally unPCish. Once again, OSX is just another Unix/Linux/BSD distro that Apple is raping and pillaging the users to own and use. It’s funny how you all say micro$oftopoly, M$, etc yet your own beloved OSX puts Apple in the same general boat. I won’t condemn this though…more power to ANY corporation who can increase their business. That’s what supports this entire capitalist society that we all love so much. I mean, with fundamentalists like yourselves, you would have made the switch from the United States to China or something by now (surely) just as you switched from Windows PCs to Apple computers or have used Apple all your lives.
Now don’t get my wrong by this point. Stupidity just bugs me some times and I like to point that out. This brings me to my next point:
WINDOWS SUCKS. We all know this deep down–linux/mac/windows/bsd/unix/os2 users alike. Windows is riddled with security holes and bad software. Hell, there’s probably even a virus out there that can choke MS’s old standby Solitare. Malware and spyware easily installs itself on Windows computers, and keyloggers and trojans are becoming a known force even to average Windows users of any flavor.
So, this begs the question “Why do most people still use Windows even if they know it sucks?” There are lots of answers for this question. Mine is that moving to an alternative (I absolutely love Debian GNU/Linux) would prevent me from doing two of the things I love most: programming (Linux software doesn’t get far for the people I write apps for) in a couple Windows-only languages (.NET [mono isn’t perfect]) and cutting-edge gaming. There just isn’t a good way for me to “switch” as Apple loves to call it. OSX doesn’t make since, Debian GNU/Linux is closer but won’t do the job. That leaves what–DOS and OS/2 Warp? Hah, I don’t think so.
While Windows may suck beyond all comprehension with all its viruses and spyware–I still need it to live my digital life. (Also, smart users have little to worry about when it comes to viruses, keyloggers, spyware, malware, or even spam.) While this is my own answer to the question above, I think this or similar variations apply to a lot of people.
NO VIRUSES!!! OMG Thanks! I just got the new MacPro and WOW!!! I wish it had fingers so I could put a ring on it…
This forum just made my day,
Sexpert
you can get iantivirus for free as long as your not a business, worth checking out, although the more programs you install the slower the mac become.