

What it does do is check the contents of a mounted disk image before it opens it and checks for two very specific files. It does not actively scan the systems Hard Disk or Memory.Let's just be clear this is not Antivirus software. We'll try to test this one out as best we can, but it's looking like Apple may have slipped this ever-so-slightly unflattering feature into their new OS under the radar.ĭoes anyone else find this ironic (if true), considering what Apple's marketing department focused on in the latest 'Get a Mac' ads?ĭisclaimer: This post was written on a Mac, running OS X 10.5. The first report came from the Intego blog, (they make Mac antivirus software) and it's been corroborated by Snow Leopard testers over at the MacRumors forums.

DMG files for malware before you run or mount them, well, that sounds an awful lot like what your average Symantec, AVG or Kapersky product is intended to do. I doubt it's doing any real-time heuristic scanning and it's definitely not running as a visible app in the OS, but if it's checking. The new feature behaves like a cross between a traditional antivirus tool and the " Are you sure you want to open this?" warnings already present in Leopard. Or to put it another way, Macs don't need antivirus! Wait.

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He and the newly formed MacFixIt team are hoping to bring enhanced and more personable content to our readers, and keep the MacFixIt community going here at CNET.Well, this is int-er-est-ing: Early testers have come across what looks like a new antivirus function within Snow Leopard. One of his diehard passions has been troubleshooting Mac problems and making the best use of Macs and Apple hardware both for family and friends, as well as in the workplace. Topher has been an avid Mac user for the past 10-15 years, and has been a contributing author to MacFixIt for just over a year now. It would be nice to have a well-implemented form of malware detection that can make use of various detection engines, since it is likely that as OS X increases in popularity that more malware will crop up, but we will see how this develops.īe sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums. Similar to what Microsoft has done with various malware detection projects, this may be the start of Apple's own antivirus software, but could also be a framework for implementing any antivirus suite such as ClamXAV, Sophos, and others. This functionality is implemented by a new "XProtect" routine in Snow Leopard, but it is uncertain whether Apple has contracted known malware detector technologies or has implemented a new detection algorithm of their own.
#Antivirus software for mac snow leopard download
Apple has put some effort into malware detection in Snow Leopard, and users should see some form of warning when they've encountered a program or installer that contains a virus, Trojan horse, or other malware.Īccording to The Register, when you download a file or open a DMG image, the detector will scan it and issue a warning stating the file might damage your computer, along with some options for canceling or continuing to open the file. Recently, there have been Trojan horses and other malware that have cropped up for OS X, and while for the most part they have just been a source of frustration, they pose a security risk.
