PC Tools iAntivirus for Mac
PC Tools iAntivirus guards against Mac only malware, including viruses, worms, trojans, spyware and adware. Unlike some Mac antivirus software, PC Tools iAntivirus doesn’t cover Windows-based malware, which helps keep performance costs and system impact low but may not be the best bet choice in a mixed Mac/Windows environment. PC Tools iAntivirus is free for home (and home office) use and currently supports Intel-based Macs running OS X 10.5 only. An unobtrusive and efficient Mac antivirus software option that dedicated Mac users will want to try. Currently in beta.
Simple but Elegant
Like other PC Tools offerings, iAntivirus steers clear of bloat – providing exactly the features you’d expect in an antivirus software as unobtrusively as possible. For example, there’s an option to disable the dock icon if you want to keep things tidy. But if you do leave the iAntivirus dock icon enabled, you can drag and drop files and folders there for quick and easy scans.
PC Tools iAntivirus features realtime protection, scheduled quick scans, and scheduled updates. Monitoring mode keeps iAntivirus working truly in the background, ideal for those who don’t want to be disturbed by alerts or anyone trying to conserve laptop batteries.
PC Tools iAntivirus detects and removes Mac-specific malware only. This can be either very good or very bad, depending on your perspective. While a Mac-only focus keeps iAntivirus running lighter and faster than other Macintosh antivirus software, it also means a Mac user could inadvertently share files infected with Windows-based malware. Macro viruses, for example, aren’t detected by iAntivirus – corporate users sharing Office documents between Windows and Mac users will want to make sure macro virus protection on both sides is enabled.
PC Tools iAntivirus is currently in beta, supports Intel-based Mac OS X v10.5 only, and is free for home (or home office) use.
Intego VirusBarrier X5: Mac Antivirus Software Review
It’s pretty hard not to like Intego VirusBarrier X5 with the eye candy interface it sports. Fortunately, VirusBarrier not only looks cool, it performs well too. VirusBarrier provides realtime signature-based and behavior-based scanning and guards against both Mac-specific and Windows-based malware. You can, however, turn off the scanning for Windows-only malware if you wish. At $70 for a single license, VirusBarrier is one of the pricier Mac antivirus options available – but it’s also one of the best.
Full Featured; Streamlined Performance
With some antivirus developers, a Mac antivirus offering is an afterthought. But at Intego, Mac security is their core business and that focus translates into a higher quality product. Intego closely monitors security events impacting Mac OS users, thus they tend to be one of the first to add detection for new Mac malware and Mac-vulnerable exploits.
Intego VirusBarrier X5 sports a sleek, modern interface that’s an improvement over the boring box windows of most other programs. The fresh look is backed up with on-access realtime scanning, a Trusted Zone to exclude files/folders from scans, and scans for iPod and iPhone touch malware. VirusBarrier can scan for Windows malware, which helps to prevent inadvertent spread in mixed environments. Mac-only users can disable the Windows malware scanning if desired. Email scanning (on send/receive) is also included, along with a quarantine feature, behavior analysis, scanning of compressed files and archives, and all the other features we expect to find in our Windows antivirus protection but too seldom find in Mac antivirus software offerings.
System performance is excellent; VirusBarrier maintains a very unobtrusive background presence – though it would be nice if the dock icon could be disabled during install. On the plus side, you can drag new or suspect files to the dock icon for a quick scan.
