[Osiris]

Apple tells Mac users: Get anti-virus

For the first time, Apple is recommending the use of anti-virus tools to protect Mac systems.
Long something of a phantom menace, strains of malware capable of infecting Mac machines have gradually been increasing in prevalence over recent months. In addition, VXers are making more use of web-based attack and applications specific vulnerabilities to infect PCs whatever their underlying operating system might be.
Windows-specific malware attacks are still orders of magnitude greater than assaults on Mac machines, but the risk to Apple fans is now enough for the Church of Jobs to admit a risk exists.
The admission that security scanner software was a good idea for Mac users came in an unheralded update to Apple's support site made on 21 November, first picked up by Brian Klebbs at Security Focus on Monday.
Apple goes further than just recommending the use of one scanner to advise the use of multiple tools. "Apple encourages the widespread use of multiple anti-virus utilities so that virus programmers have more than one application to circumvent, thus making the whole virus writing process more difficult," it said.
Quite aside from the expense, the use of multiple anti-virus scanners could affect system performance and smacks of overkill. Users who use one anti-virus scanner, a personal firewall and keeping up to date with patching would be safer than just relying on two anti-virus scanners to bail them out of trouble, according to general security best-practice.
Using multiple scanners on mail gateways and servers makes sense, but on the desktop the advice is a lot more questionable.
Apple suggests Intego VirusBarrier, Symantec Norton Anti-Virus 11 for Macintosh and McAfee VirusScan for Mac as possible security options. All these packages come at a price, while AVG is well known for supplying a basic version of its anti-virus software to Windows consumers at home at no charge. Avast! Home Edition and Clam AV provide similar options for Mac users.

Apple tells Mac users: Get anti-virus ? The Register

[Osiris]

Apple Deletes Mac Antivirus Suggestion

Apple has removed the KnowledgeBase article we told you about yesterday (here) recommending antivirus software to Mac owners. Damage control is in high gear with Apple’s spokesperson saying it was an “old and inaccurate” listing.

Apple removed an old item from its support site late Tuesday that urged Mac customers to use multiple antivirus utilities and now says the Mac is safe "out of the box." "We have removed the KnowledgeBase article because it was old and inaccurate."

[zedman3d]

lol. idiots...

[carnageX]

Lol wow... Ditto what Zed said.

[computer newbie]

:laughing:lol lol lol.

[Hussein19891]

Originally Posted by Osiris

Church of Jobs

LOOOOL!!! :laughing::laughing:

[Tim]

I bet a load of people complained that their "safe" Macs were under threat, probably removed it because of that

[Saxon]

No it was pulled for Ppublic Relations, they are going to wait till there are enough of the newer imacs out there that where not advertised as virus free then they will start offering Norton more aggressively, they have norton available in store but it's a small low key CD display rack normally next to the macbooks to your left when you walk in the door.

Norton is worse on OSX than it is on XP / Vista if you can belive that, I would recommend avast to any one who is running OSX.

[Baez]

That's pretty hard to believe Chris. If they can get AVG running it would probably get Symantec's attention. This should finally force AVG to finalize it now that the threat is becoming great.

[zedman3d]

Isnt Avast a great deal better than AVG in most areas? Why would you want AVG?
I know i get a software update for avast atleast once a week and upto 2 virus definition updates a day.