Anti-virus software

[Btoney]

I want to install anti virus software for Mac OS X and have been checking out some suppliers' sites. Can someone tell me the difference between Virex and VirusScan? I found the McAfee Security site confusing.
I would also be interested in any views on anti virus products.
:rolleyes:

[Rower_CPU]

Anti-virus apps for OS X are pretty much optional...for now.

The only thing I've seen with any regularity is a Word virus that plagues some files people send around at work. It doesn't damage anything, it just kicks off the email virus filters.

[alset]

I would recommend Virex, as I know nothing about other antivirus apps in X. Virex works in the background, though it's never found a problem on my OS X machines. Doesn't hurt to have it, though :) .

[Btoney]

Just as a matter of interest, the reason I am investigating anti-virus software is that my bank (The Royal Bank - one of the leading Canadian banks) has revised its contract for the provision of online services and users are required to confirm that they have anti-virus software installed (regardless of which platform they use). I wonder if this is a trend?
I'm still trying to find out the difference betwen Virex and VirusScan.

[grapes911]

I'm not 100% sure, but i think VirusScan was the original program for windows. Virex is the mac version.

[bousozoku]

The difference between VirusScan and Virex is that McAfee no long develops VirusScan for Macintosh and bought DataWatch, the developer of Virex, which has been the leading anti-virus software for most of the existance of Macintosh.

There are others such as VirusBarrier and Norton Anti-Virus and quite a few that are hard to locate, such as Innoculan.

I have used Virex almost exclusively but might also trust VirusBarrier.

[Btoney]

Many thanks for the info. I have downloaded a trial version of VirusBarrier and we'll see how it goes.
I will also take a look at Virex.

[Schiffi]

Just a question, Has anyone's anti-virus program actually found a virus before?

[bousozoku]

Originally posted by Schiffi
Just a question, Has anyone's anti-virus program actually found a virus before?

I've heard of other people finding viruses on their Mac, even lately, but it rarely happens. Last I saw, there were only 42 native viruses and those would be Mac OS X-incompatible. Then, there are the 20,000+ MS Office viruses that are probably caught frequently.

I never worked without virus protection by choice, but unless Apple hardware becomes interesting to virus writers, I'm not too worried. Besides, I used to remove viruses in Windows without anti-virus software.