Mac Anti-Virus Software

Reviewed by Wayne Greene 6/29/2012

There are two major classes of viruses found on Macintosh computers, those which infect the operating system or executables, and those which infect Microsoft documents (macro viruses).  Although a variety of tools are available to remove both types, we recommend use of Symantec Antivirus.

If you do not have Symantec Antivirus, please send mail to <help> requesting the latest version.   Symantec Antivirus is also available via http download from the ITS Software Acquisition page.

Symantec Antivirus is a tool to prevent, detect, and remove viruses from Macintosh systems.  It is usually installed in the Applications folder on each Macintosh.  It is important to run Live Update to download the latest virus definitions and upgrades.  This is initially setup to run automatically once a week. You may have to restart your machine after a live update.

You configure Symantec Antivirus in the System Preferences Other section.  This is how you can scan your disk, run live update, rset up general preferences.  By default Norton has autoprotect turned on. This means that when new software is installed, Norton will ask for permission; when files are copied to your drive and when floppies, USB Memory sticks or CD/DVDs are inserted, Norton will scan them.

We recommend you run Norton Antivirus and Live Update once a week.

Please Note: ClamAV is also a supported solution for Mac Antivirus software. More information and installation instructions can be found in this document: ClamAV for OSX.