[Zubir]

Don't know if it runs under Rosetta, since I'm on a G4.

http://www.clamxav.com/

[chabig]

Consider yourself already checked. There are NO viruses for Mac OS X. And I don't feel obliged to check for Windows viruses as a "courtesy" to Windows users. Sorry. That's one of the reasons I use a Mac.

[Zubir]

That doesn't mean there never will be, and frankly, I find this kind of smug self-assuredness foolish and disturbing. Pride goeth before the fall...

[ghporter]

...and posts about applications go in Applications.

By the way, while I agree with you that it's a good idea to have something in place in preparation for the eventual arrival of a Mac virus, I've heard mixed reviews of Clamx. There are others out there that are also free, and some good commercial products that do not cost an arm and a leg. Keep an open mind and don't get fixated on the first one you found.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally Posted by Zubir

That doesn't mean there never will be, and frankly, I find this kind of smug self-assuredness foolish and disturbing. Pride goeth before the fall...

True. But, how can a virus checker check for nonexistent viruses? What does it use for virus definitions?

[ghporter]

Virus checkers do not solely depend on definitions. They also pay attention to behaviors. If something suddenly starts messing with something that it shouldn't, that raises a red flag. For example, on my Windows laptop if the AV program sees something trying to access the Registry, it warns me of that and keeps it from happenin guntil I say it's ok. While the structure of OS X is mush better at keeping accidental damaging behavior to a minimum, it can still be subverted, so this heuristic approach works with it as well.

[Zubir]

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak

True. But, how can a virus checker check for nonexistent viruses? What does it use for virus definitions?

ClamXAV is a Unix virus scanner with a Mac front end. OS X is a BSD derivative, so theoretically Unix attacks can be used against OS X... and there are viruses and rootkits for Unix out there. Make no mistake, there WILL eventually be OS X specific viruses and rootkits. No operating system is invulnerable.

The reason I posted the link in the first place if for our new Windows switcher friends who think they need anti-virus software. So, I pointed them to one. I'm not saying this program will stop anything, but I like to err on the side of caution.

[plasticman]

the screenshot in the link shows that the application has found a number of windows viruses in the mac, so I guess it can find viruses on a mac!

[analogika]

Not Mac viruses, though.

So if you consider other people's bad judgement (since running Windows and possibly not doing enough themselves to secure their machine is nothing but bad judgement) your personal responsibility, go ahead.

[TETENAL]

Originally Posted by ghporter

Virus checkers do not solely depend on definitions. They also pay attention to behaviors.

ClamXav doesn't. It only checks when told so.

[threestain]

what other free mac os x av programs are there? only found clamxav after lots of looking...