macdevcenter on ClamXav

^ Eeep, I made a mistake. Actually the reply was for Ryan (who was replying to Rhys) :-) Antonis

Replying to Rhys 4. I've heard this argument before, that I should run an antivirus program in case I accidentaly spread a Windows virus. I refuse to slow down MY system because someone ELSE's system might get infected. Everyone is responsible for his own computer's well being and the reason I bought a Mac is to stop worrying about viruses. It's not my fault that someone else's OS is more prone to virus infections than mine. Have to go for lunch now :-) Antonis

How does this compare to other antivirus software, Norton Antivirus 10 for example? Should people be switching over to this free utility, or is the software you pay for generally better than freeware?

READ THIS: I just installed and ran ClamXAV on my Documents folder and it said I had 1 infected file. Here is the EXACT file and location from the scan log: Documents/Windows 98.vpc7/Disk1.vhdp/BaseDrive.vhd: DOS.HLLP.6256 FOUND That's right, my 1 week old installation of Windows98 running in VirtualPC is INFECTED!!! I never opened an email or downloaded a single thing on the thing. It is connected to a network, so somehow it got a virus/worm/WinBug of some sort. I've wiped the tears of laughter from my eyes and now I'm going to...no, still laughing. At least I can trash the thing without issue.

Rhys, there are plenty of viruses out there. Those viruses just don't happen to be for OS X. Scanning for viruses on your mac is mostly just a courtesy for your Windows friends. An infected file might not infect your computer, but you can sure pass on that virus to other people. Also, you never know when sonebody will make some malacious code for OS X.

It's a very intuitive process. The article is only two pages long though, so it shouldn't kill you.

Am I missing something here? Since when has there been enough (or any) viruses to warrant bothering with this?

Is it worth reading the whole thing, or will I understand it (i.e. Is it a normal program)?