News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

December 10, 2007

updates

Norton AntiVirus updated for Leopard

Posted Dec. 10, ’07, 5:29 PM PT by Aaron Freedman
Category | Software » Updates

Nortonantivirus11 There are many Mac apps that people will mark as their favorites: NetNewsWire, Quicksilver, Adium, and many, many others. But, for some strange reason, I get the feeling that Norton AntiVirus isn’t on that list. Why? Well, in addition to being a super-exciting virus-blocking program, it also isn’t terrific on keeping up with the latest developments on the Mac. Well, Symantec may now be changing that with the release of the Leopard-compatible Norton AntiVirus 11 for Mac.

In addition to Leopard compatibility, Norton AntiVirus 11 also has redesigned UI that may seem a little too kid-ish for some, a new “Vulnerability Protection” feature, and Terminal support. And of course, there’s loads of bug fixes and performance boosts over version 10.

While I’m not complaining about Symantec updating Norton AntiVirus, I still think that paying $49.95 ($29.95 for an upgrade from 10) for anti-virus software on Mac just isn’t worth it at this point. Sure, I may soon eat these words, but for now I just don’t think it’s really worth it.

[via Infinite Loop]


4 Comments

Anonymous said:

I'm not being facetious when I ask this: what would Norton do on a Mac? If someone finally does invent a scary mac virus, would it actually protect me?

December 10, 2007 6:14 PM
fletcher Author Profile Page said:

Those of us who have been using the Mac for a while remember the scourge of WDEF and other viruses which plagued the Macs in the eighties and early nineties. At that time Norton was an important tool. For example, at one school I attended, we had to scan every floppy disk before we could use it in the computer lab.

Until recently I was using Norton as the virus scanner in my email program. It worked well at catching all the Windows viruses that went by so my users couldn't retransmit them to other Windows users.

ClamAV is a good alternative if you want a free virus scanner for the Mac.

December 10, 2007 8:36 PM
fletcher Author Profile Page said:

Those of us who have been using the Mac for a while remember the scourge of WDEF and other viruses which plagued the Macs in the eighties and early nineties. At that time Norton was an important tool. For example, at one school I attended, we had to scan every floppy disk before we could use it in the computer lab.

Until recently I was using Norton as the virus scanner in my email program. It worked well at catching all the Windows viruses that went by so my users couldn't retransmit them to other Windows users.

ClamAV is a good alternative if you want a free virus scanner for the Mac.

December 10, 2007 8:38 PM
krye said:

One thing people don't talk about is the Mac being used as a host. Someone could send you a file that is infected with a virus. It may sit dormant on your Mac for years. Of course, that virus does not execute on a Mac, but once you send it to a coworker or friend who has a PC, you unknowingly infect them with a virus. So even though you are not infected, you may still be carrying the disease. This is probably the reason why someone would want virus protection for the Mac.

December 11, 2007 5:34 AM

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