CHECKING FOR VIRUS & SPYWARE

OS X has excellent security and there are no (as in none, zip, nada, none!) virus's for OS X. Therefore there is no need for anti-virus software like a Windows machine. However like any computer it can become victim to a trojan which must be downloaded by the user. A little common sense will prevent a trojan from getting on your system. As a general rule, never download anything unless you requested it first. If you get a message saying you must download something ignore the message!

Please read the recent article in CNET called Malware targeting OS X users and you will see their advice is the same as mine.

Finally when posting a message please do use all caps, it is considered yelling which I'm sure wasn't your intent.

Roger

Any system with a connection to the Internet is suspect to attack. OS X is certainly less prone to spyware, malware, and virii than Windows, mostly due to the fact that it is much less targeted by malware hackers, but don't lull yourself into a false sense of security.

I would recommend ClamXav, which has a "live" auto-protect feature and on-demand scanning capability, and is fairly unobtrusive. It's also available for Linux (another operating system that is often considered to be virus-free).

Use Sophos Antivirus if you need an antivirus. Now there is Mac malware and I was even infected with "Virus/spyware OSX/MusMinim-C" Thankfully Sophos Antivirus found it. The chances of being infected are very low...but it is always possible like me getting infected.

Good Luck,

TJ

I realize this is an old thread, but their are a few misconceptions here.

Mac\'Man wrote:

Use Sophos Antivirus if you need an antivirus. Now there is Mac malware and I was even infected with "Virus/spyware OSX/MusMinim-C"

OSX/MusMinim-C is a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) for the OSX platform, which is also known as "BlackHole RAT", which is not really spyware in the classic sense.

Also in general terms, A-V software won't detect spyware which is usually legitimate commercial or hack software that requires physical access to the computer or approved shared access via a local network. For the same reason, OS X does not protect against the installation of such software.

The only utility that I'm aware of which specializes in Spyware detection is MacScan from SecureMac but it is prone to "false alarms" and not very good with regard to malware detection (see MacScan disappoints).