08-17-2010, 12:18 PM
One of the most amazing benefits of being a Mac user is that you simply aren’t as prone to malicious virtual attackers. The primary reason for this is that the core architecture of OS X is designed to be secure right out of the box.
So why is this architecture so secure? One of many answers is that OS X heavily restricts global actions that can be performed by third party applications and utilities. What this means on a practical level is that if you hypothetically downloaded something that was tainted, it shouldn’t be able to get at your important system files.
This technique, known as “Sandboxing,” essentially blocks those silly people who sit around and create viruses (seriously, get a life man!) from doing too much damage.
Norton AntiVirus
That’s right, the same people that keep all those PC users safe from the never-ending sea of Windows attacks also offer protection to Mac users.
Features:
McAfee VirusScan
McAfee is another big name in virus protection. VirusScan promises to protect you against “all types of viruses and malicious code, even new unknown threats.”
Features:
ProtectMac
For what it’s worth, ProtectMac is definitely one of the more attractive options on the market. I’m much more prone to trust someone with the protection of my Mac if they prove they really understand OS X by actually developing an application that looks and feels right at home on Snow Leopard.
Features:
iAntiVirus
iAntiVirus is attractive, extremely easy to use and claims to be “designed from the ground up to detect and remove Mac specific threats.”
Features:
VirusBarrier X6
VirusBarrier X6 definitely has an interface that’s all its own and claims to be the “only antivirus program for Mac that includes full anti-malware protection together with firewall, network protection, anti-phishing, anti-spyware features and more.”
Features:
Enjoy!
So why is this architecture so secure? One of many answers is that OS X heavily restricts global actions that can be performed by third party applications and utilities. What this means on a practical level is that if you hypothetically downloaded something that was tainted, it shouldn’t be able to get at your important system files.
This technique, known as “Sandboxing,” essentially blocks those silly people who sit around and create viruses (seriously, get a life man!) from doing too much damage.
Norton AntiVirus
That’s right, the same people that keep all those PC users safe from the never-ending sea of Windows attacks also offer protection to Mac users.
Features:
- Antivirus
- Internet Worm Protection
- Automatically detects and removes viruses
- Scans and cleans downloaded files and email attachments
- Protects against attacks that target software vulnerabilities
- Delivers industry-leading protection in the background, so you can work and play without any noticeable impact on performance
McAfee VirusScan
McAfee is another big name in virus protection. VirusScan promises to protect you against “all types of viruses and malicious code, even new unknown threats.”
Features:
- Continuous policy enforcement for multiple files, directories, or volumes, including volumes on remote computers connected through the network.
- Protects your Macintosh systems against all types of viruses and other threats, including emerging malware.
- Uses the Mac OS X interface, you can initiate on-demand scanning using file drag and drop
- Scans files as they are accessed to determine if they are infected with malware
ProtectMac
For what it’s worth, ProtectMac is definitely one of the more attractive options on the market. I’m much more prone to trust someone with the protection of my Mac if they prove they really understand OS X by actually developing an application that looks and feels right at home on Snow Leopard.
Features:
- Designed by security experts to keep you protected from today’s computer threats.
- Real-time file-access scans, scheduled background scans, user scans,
- Finder scans and automatic scans of volumes.
- Learns which files and applications are important to you, ensuring that access to these ‘hot’ files is as quick as possible without compromising computer security
iAntiVirus
iAntiVirus is attractive, extremely easy to use and claims to be “designed from the ground up to detect and remove Mac specific threats.”
Features:
- Perform a variety of scan types
- Protects your Mac against infections in real time
- Quarantines all detected infections, allowing you to easily view and restore items in the case of a false positive
- Designed to work silently in the background, threats are blocked and removed without any system impact
VirusBarrier X6
VirusBarrier X6 definitely has an interface that’s all its own and claims to be the “only antivirus program for Mac that includes full anti-malware protection together with firewall, network protection, anti-phishing, anti-spyware features and more.”
Features:
- Includes a powerful two-way firewall, extending the program’s protection beyond detecting and eradicating malware
- Protects users from intrusions, attacks and booby-trapped web pages
- Detects suspicious actions carried out by applications that may be malicious
- Protects users from phishing web sites that try to trick them into entering personal information
- Users can choose a level of CPU time to be allocated to background scans
Enjoy!