For the first time ever Apple is encouraging its customers to install antivirus software on their Macs for added protection and security.
As Apple’s market share increases, so does the likelihood of malicious viruses being spread. As many have argued in the past, the reason Apple’s computers are currently so safe is because their market share is tiny in comparison to Windows. The more people that switch to Macs and begin adopting the platform, the bigger the target gets for malware developers. While it may seem ironic for Apple to recommend antivirus software while touting the lack of malware on its computers, we take it as a breath of fresh air. As market share continues to grow, so should Apple’s awareness regarding safety and security.
Support Note: “Apple encourages the widespread use of multiple antivirus utilities so that virus programmers have more than one application to circumvent, thus making the whole virus writing process more difficult. Here are some available antivirus utilities:”
Mac OS: Antivirus utilities
• Intego VirusBarrier X5, available from the Apple Online Store
License: commercial
• Symantec Norton Anti-Virus 11 for Macintosh, available from the Apple Online Store
License: commercial
• McAfee VirusScan for Mac
License: commercial
Updates: The support document was not a brand new one, and as our friends at MDN point out, was published back in June 2007 for the first time.
10 Comments to “Apple Recommends Antivirus Software For The First Time Ever [U]”
not surprising in the slightest. they have to cover themselves and ignoring that viruses and malware exists for OS X is stupid.
Reply
I have always used antivirus on my mac. Just because viruses aren’t as popular or widespread as they are on other operating systems doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Not running anti-spyware utilities on your mac is just like leaving the windows to your car cracked just enough for someone to unlock the door.
Reply
This is not new!
Apple has at least for the last year stipulated on its website under get-a-mac that it recommends use of anti virus software!
Reply
Actually the author omitted a small paragraph right after the text included here:
“Important: Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute Apple’s recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information.”
So Apple does not recommend or endorse. On the application download page, along the page with Disk Utilities, Games, Screensaver or whatever category, there is also a “Antivirus Utilities” category containing those 3 products. Please don’t take things out of context. Although I do think Apple recommends using an antivirus when using BootCamp to boot Windows.
Reply
Hey M, I didn’t see that paragraph you mentioned. I wasn’t trying to take things out of context, however the support note was posted on Nov.21st.
Reply
Anyone else use iAntiVirus. It seems pretty good, especially because it is FREE! Any other good free ones out there ya’ll know of?
Reply
not many options out there chris, virex isn’t free and there aren’t many options as far as free for OS X.
Reply
There are many reasons why I maintain two bootable images of my HD that are automatically updated daily and a third that is updated weekly. (Thanks SuperDuper!) The remote possibility of malware corruption is just one.
Reply
Um. No. Here’s the same KB article from a year ago.
http://web.archive.org/web/20080113164722/http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=4454
In other breaking news, I hear rumours that Apple is thinking about getting into the music business. Maybe with some sort of handheld MP3 player…
Reply
maybe “first time ever” isn’t right for the title. other than that I think it’s pretty accurate.
Reply