Sophos brings its antivirus to Mac

By Elinor Mills | November 3, 2010 | 5

Sophos unveiled free antivirus software that Macintosh users can install to detect and block malware that targets computers running the Mac operating system.

(Hackintosh image by Micael Tattoo Faccio, CC2.0)

Sophos Anti-Virus Home Edition for Mac also detects malware written for Windows that Mac users can spread via USB drives and email, according to Chet Wisniewski, a senior security adviser at Sophos.

The software is a non-commercial version of Sophos Anti-Virus 7.2 for Mac, targeted at home users and modified so it is easier to install and use, he said.

The free Mac antivirus software from Sophos, which also launched a Mac support forum, will compete with ClamXav, Avast and PC Tools' iAntiVirus. Sophos has more information about Mac threats in this blog post.

While the vast majority of malware is written for the Windows platform, Mac threats do crop up. Last week, the Boonana trojan horse surfaced. And in an update to Snow Leopard in June, Apple added software to protect Macs from a trojan horse that was being distributed by attackers disguised as iPhoto.

Via CNET

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graceland posted a comment 2 years ago

i need to try before i can make a comment

Don posted a comment 3 years ago

There you go, keep those viruses coming

damez posted a comment 3 years ago

the mac user base will speak loudly when a threat worthy of mitigation intrudes on any sort of appreciable scale. Until then, any threat there is, is not worthy of attention.

Pay attention to Ben's advice and make an effort to ensure your mission critical data is backed up on a separate volume.

Done.

Ben posted a comment 3 years ago

This isn’t really necessary if people apply a little common sense. Yes, you could get malware from installing pirated software. Yes, you could get malware from typing in your password when asked by a random Java Applet. Yes, you might get a trojan if you install a program from an illegitimate website.

Don’t do those things, and you should be fine, no anti-virus software needed. I’ve yet to hear of anybody who’s had one on a Mac, even of those that do exist.

Shane posted a comment 3 years ago

Is this necessary for Macs, or is it just wasting system resources, "protecting" against a threat that's only hypothetical?

Sophos brings its antivirus to Mac

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