Riding on the coattails of Apple's wildly successful iPod, iPhone,
and iPad, sales of the company's Macintosh computers have outpaced the
personal computer industry as a whole.
Part of the attraction to the Mac has been the belief that they are
immune to the ongoing security assault that affects Windows users.
So far, that's been a good bet. Mac users have been able to sit back
and watch while their Windows-using colleagues suffer from viruses,
spyware, scareware, and multiple infestations of malware.
Some of that has been the result of what might be called security
by obscurity - there is much less payoff to the bad guys in
targeting the much smaller Mac user-base. Equally the case: Mac
OS X, like alternative PC operating system Linux, is based on
Unix, which is designed for multiple users with security in mind and
thus harder to infect.
Windows, despite Microsoft's ongoing efforts to beef up security,
remains at its core a less secure system.
Mac (and Linux) users are subject to just as much spam and phishing
scam email as anyone else and can inadvertently pass on virus-bearing
email attachments to their more vulnerable Windows-using colleagues.
(Macs and Linux PCs running Windows in virtual sessions are as
vulnerable to infections as any Windows system.) Despite this, few Mac
users bother to install any sort of security software, and they
generally haven't suffered any consequences.
Sophos Anti-Virus
Security vendor Sophos (headquartered in the UK, with a major
facility in downtown Vancouver) thinks the time has come for Mac users
to take security more seriously. In a Sophos-sponsored survey, 95% of
respondents believed that the honeymoon was over, feeling that Macs
would be increasingly targeted in the future.
At the beginning of November, the company released Sophos
Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition, which is free for home users. It
claims to protect users from all known malware, "both Mac- and
Windows-specific threats including Trojan-horses, viruses, worms and
spyware."
While only a small number of Mac-specific threats have been
identified, Sophos notes that Macs have recently been targeted by faux
versions of commercial software on pirate download sites and erotic
video sites that require specific viewer software that contains
malicious code.
Sophos' free software runs in the background without requiring
manual system scans and can disinfect existing infections. It can clean
Windows malware from infested USB flash drives plugged into a Mac.
Home users can download the free product. It runs on current
Intel-based Macs and on older PowerPC Macs, running operating system
versions 10.4 Tiger, 10.5 Leopard, and 10.6 Snow Leopard. The company also
offers Sophos Antivirus ($165 per year - free trial available) for Mac
and Windows small-business users, along with a variety of other
security programs.
Panda Antivirus
Sophos is not alone in hoping Mac users will become more security
conscious. In October, Panda Security released
Panda Antivirus for Mac (free trial, from $50 per year, requires OS
X 10.5 or later). Panda vice-president Ivan Fermon predicts that when
the Mac's worldwide market share reaches 15% - it currently hovers
around 10% - "hackers will begin to aggressively target attacks."
Panda claims to have identified 5,000 strains of Mac-specific
malware, a number that is growing by about 500 each month. (By
comparison, Panda Labs is identifying 55,000 new Windows-focused
threats each day.) A nice feature: Panda's Mac product will check a
connected iPhone or iPad for malware - devices that are likely to be
increasingly targeted in the future.
Other Options
Another alternative is ClamXav, a free Mac OS X antivirus
application based on the open source ClamAV program. Version 1.1.1
supports OS X 10.4 and 10.5 but is not compatible with 10.6.
Version 2 is in public beta and supports 10.4, 10.5, and 10.6.
Other options include iAntiVirus (from $30, no system
requirements listed), Intego VirusBarrier X6 (free
trial, $50 for 2 Macs, requires OS X 10.5 or later),
McAfee VirusScan for Mac (free trial, $110 for 3 Macs, requires OS
X 10.4.6 or later), and ProtectMac
AntiVirus (free trial, $45 for 3 Macs, requires OS X 10.4.7 or
later).
Editor's note: We believe the Macintosh platform remains safe,
although that may change in the future. Installing antivirus software
before that happens can be viewed as a good preventative step and a way
to keep you from spreading malware-laden files to Windows users. The
software list above is not exhaustive, and inclusion of an application
does not mean that Low End Mac has tested it or recommends it. Until
OS X comes under attack, we won't know how effective any of these
programs will be against Mac malware. dk
Linux Antivirus
While there are fewer Linux users than Mac users, they might also
want to install security software. Perhaps the easiest to use: Avast for Linux - again, free for home use.
(The Czech company also offers free and paid products for Windows.)
There is also the free, open source ClamAV program, mentioned above.
Antivirus Is Essential for Windows
While security software is increasingly being recommended for Mac
and Linux users, for Windows users, it's an absolute necessity. For
home and small-business users, my recommendation is the free Microsoft Security
Essentials. 
First published in Business in Vancouver November 23-29, 2010
issue #1100
