For years the Apple geeks were always self-praising and postulating that their OS was so secure and superior that it didn’t need any silly Anti Virus software. Things changed a couple of years back though, probably in 2009 when Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bundled With Malware Detector.
Not long after that the commercial crowd starting moving into the Mac anti virus arena – in 2010 Sophos Launched a FREE Anti-Virus Software For Mac.
And last year in 2011, it was claimed that Mac Malware was Becoming a Serious Threat. The latest entrant into this area is Avira.
German security company Avira has released free antivirus software for Apple Macs, joining a host of security software providers offering protection for OS X.
Avira said Apple’s market share for computers has increased, which has been followed by an increase in malicious software programs. The company said the product will not contain advertising or marketing pop-up ads.
Many of the top security software companies offer security software for Macs, with some for free. Kaspersky Lab, Intego, PC Tools, Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro all offer paid security software, while Sophos offers its Mac product for free.
Apple has marketed itself as inherently more secure than Windows. Security experts have said its platform is just as prone to software vulnerabilities as other operating systems, but Windows is targeted more due to its high market share.
Again it’s a free offering, I guess Avira wants to move into the market too before anyone else like Sopho/Mcafee/Symantec manages to dominate it. With the Apple marketshare growing it’s a wise move to get in before they get excluded.
It’s an interesting move to offer free software though, perhaps they just want to use it as a bait and if the Mac market grows enough they can release a paid for ‘premium version’.
In a sign of the increasing prevalence of Mac malware, Apple rolled out an antimalware tool called XProtect in 2009, which is periodically updated to detect new malware.
Avira also released an application for Android phones that can remotely lock or locate a device as well as erase its data. Using a web-based interface, the phone’s owner can display a “call owner” message on the device with a number.
A missing Android device can be plotted on Google Maps. It can also be commanded to make a loud sound for 20 seconds, Avira said. Up to five phones can be managed remotely. The application is free and works with Android 2.2, known as Froyo, and 2.3, nicknamed Gingerbread.
And as we all know, OSX isn’t really any more secure than Windows – it just so happens the marketshare and pure mass of Windows users is so large that it makes a lot more sense to target them. Plus Mac users tended to be more tech savvy (a few years back before all the clueless hipster douchebags jumped on the Apple bandwagon) so they kept their software up to date.
Mac malware is becoming a serious threat though and I’d suggest any of you using Macs may want to consider installing some kind of AV software.
Source: Network World
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