Although Apple has marketed the Mac as a computer that’s free from viruses and other malware, and it is true that the Mac is immune from the majority of viruses written for computers, it’s starting to become more important for Mac users like you and I to wake up and take some new preventative measures, as more users flock to the Apple platform.
As is the case with Windows, the more users of the operating system, the more lucrative the market is for hackers and cyber criminals to write virus code for that system. Until recently, Mac OS X had about 50 -60 malware code infections. However, recent reports from the Mac community point to increased risks in the platform, and many analysts are pointing accusing fingers at Apple for not taking security as seriously as Microsoft.
But we’re not going to wait for Apple to take the stand against virus makers; in today’s post, I’m going to tell you about a really cool (and free) anti-virus software for the Mac called iAntiVirus. It comes in a few editions, with the basic one being free (the only feature limitations I found were no customer support and the software is for personal use only, but that’s OK for me and should be for most of you readers out there).
iAntiVirus is really quick to load (it’s a small file, so it’s quick to download too). It offers full-time protection, and allows you to Quick Scan your Mac (what I did, and posted the screenshot). This process is pretty fast, and from my experience, quite thorough.
After a few minutes, it posts a report about the scan, detailing the number of files scanned, and the number of affected files. Luckily for me, my MacBook is pretty clean!
What’s cool about iAntiVirus program is that is has always-on protection, so in the unfortunate event that you open an infected file, the software will quickly come to the rescue and alert you to the properties of the file.
The application displays as a small icon in the menu bar, and clicking the icon opens up a list of options — showing the iAntiVirus screen, setting the the protection to always-on, app preferences and a few other options besides.
While this free version is limited in phone-in customer support and is for personal use only, I found it a great way to safeguard my Mac against any threats, in this age of computing when Apple computers are becoming more and more common.
Mac OS X comes with great rock-solid UNIX security and a strong firewall, but hey, it’s still better to be safe than sorry!
iAntiVirus can be downloaded from here. (Direct link)
