ClamXav offers five configuration options: Once you’ve downloaded and opened the app you’ll want to set the app’s preferences, as the default behavior is to scan for viruses but not delete or quarantine them.

You’ll find it at the Mac App Store or you can download it directly from the ClamXav Website, where you can also make a donation. If you’re using Apple’s Server app to host your email, it’s what Apple uses to scan incoming mail for viruses.ĬlamXav is, like AdWare Medic, donationware and it is fantastic. The articles you (nizmoz) linked to mention viruses in their titles, but while the specific examples they give are all malware, none of them are viruses (i.e., a program that can copy its bad parts into another program so it can be further spread).Why ClamXav? Because it has one job and it does it very well. Those other forms of malware can't just spread around to other executables on your system (and run when you run those executables). You do still have to watch out for other forms of malware, but unlike viruses, you would only get those by downloading and running them yourself. Without a single virus on the macos operating system, the particular problem of viruses (which may run without you have any idea they were running) is completely mitigated on macos. Viruses, on the other hand, are a particular kind of malware which (by definition) spread their programming (which typically causes something nefarious) to other executables, so that when those other (now-infected) executables are run the virus can do its damage and spread. If you don't download and run them, you won't get those particular malware programs. The ways you can get malware vary, and many of them require you to download something and run it. And Viruses are just one type of malware. It says that viruses is NOT actually the name for all the harmful programs that get run on people's computers-actually, the name for those programs is malware. This quote doesn't say that malware is another name for viruses. Malware types include viruses, worms, Trojans, remote access Trojans, rootkits, spyware, adware, ransomware and botware.' 'Although many people think of all unwanted, damaging, and invasive programs as “viruses” the definition of these attacking programs has become refined into several different categories and the umbrella term for these damaging programs is “malware.” Any program that does bad stuff on your computer is malware. The distinction is important, because of the differences between the two and how you can (or can't) get themĪll computer viruses are malware.

Malware is not the same as viruses, and while there is mac malware, there is no mac virus. Ok, so while the two of you are arguing, I think you, nizmoz, are failing to see the point that thirdxeye is trying to make, which is this:

Free mac antivirus scam