Antivirus vendors melt on Mac Malware Scare

Coincidence or not, a pair of antivirus software manufacturers offer new products at a time when Mac malware makes headlines.

The first is Avast free Antivirus for Mac. Although the product is not new, this version, now in beta, is strongly reworked from older versions. It includes analysis on application of the system of entire file and shields antivirus for e-mail, Web sites and applications.

The other program is F-Secure Anti-Virus for Mac, which costs $40 per year. It offers a virus in real time, scanner, and a "panic button" that instantly blocks all Internet traffic to the computer.

Other companies, such as Symantec and Intego, offered a software antivirus Mac for years.

Security Mac has been a major problem recently because of the MacDefender malware and its variants, stealthily on the Web through sites that use search engine optimization spam chapter in the search results. MacDefender is done so that the antivirus software, showing a Web page that looks like a screen for the detection of virus and then prompting the user to complete the installation process. If completed, the malware will require credit card information to remove non-existent viruses.

Apple to address this problem itself, with a security updating which blocks MacDefender and its variants. This resulted in a bit of carrot in which malicious programs try to defeat the defences of Apple, and Apple responds with daily updates of new malware definitions.

In other words, Apple security update is the work of antivirus software, at least for this particular strain of malicious software. An old issue: users of Mac Do need software antiviru in the first place?

Personally, I wouldn't install anti-virus on a Mac software. A threat against the malware as MacDefender may be rebutted with a little Krafty, because it cannot install without user's permission or deploy on its own. As for the virus, which can install and deploy on their own, there is very little evidence of major threats in the wild, and said Apple him have built-in protection against these attacks.

But MacDefender showed the bad guys are showing a greater interest in attacking Mac users. Anti-virus software manufacturers will argue that you can never be too cautious, but the best answer - and that does tax your wallet or your CPU - are attention without panic.

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