05-14-2011, 09:11 AM

What is the Best Free Antivirus for Mac OS X.
I am also have virtual machine Windows on it. Will it be protected if I set up antivirus only on Mac?
Thank you.

05-14-2011, 09:14 AM

Many member ask the question about viruses and malware on the Mac and in addition to using the search function at the top of the forum, you'll find almost all your answers here:

Official Antivirus, Malware, and Firewall FAQ

05-14-2011, 10:48 AM

Originally Posted by guchok

What is the Best Free Antivirus for Mac OS X.

Despite a handful of trojans that exist for Mac OS X, there still has never been a true virus for it. What little malware does exist is easily avoided with a bit of common sense computing (i.e. only downloading programs from trusted sources, avoiding pirated software and never giving a program your admin password when prompted unless you know exactly what it is, why you need it and where it came from).

So, an anti-virus solution is kind of useless at this point, since it has nothing to scan for. If you want to do occasional scans, check out ClamXAV.

I am also have virtual machine Windows on it. Will it be protected if I set up antivirus only on Mac?
Thank you.

No. Windows is basically running in its own sandbox, so an antivirus on Mac OS X will not see the filesystem of the virtual machine. You definitely want to run a Windows-specific anti-virus on the virtual machine, particularly if you use it to access the Internet at all.

I recommend Microsoft's own, free, Microsoft Security Essentials.

05-14-2011, 07:04 PM

Also there is now available ClamWin from ClamXAV manufacturers, Sourceforge. It is also free ware. A little slower to update and scan than MSE.

05-14-2011, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by harryb2448

Also there is now available ClamWin from ClamXAV manufacturers, Sourceforge. It is also free ware. A little slower to update and scan than MSE.

Do note though, that ClamXAV is reactive only. It will not proactively prevent the installation of a virus, which is very important in the Windows world. There are many free Windows AV products and most of them are proactive.