Short answer: not yet.

While it’s true that no computer is completely invulnerable to malicious software, Mac OS X is the most secure platform commercially available. Geeks like to debate why it is that Macs don’t get most viruses; some will argue that it’s because Apple’s market share is so insignificant that the majority of hackers will try to exert as much influence as possible by writing their viruses for Windows computers. Others suggest that the security of the OS is based on its UNIX foundation, which is inherently more stable and compartmentalized.

Both of these arguments have merit; it’s definitely true that the majority of hackers are writing for Windows/DOS machines. But to me, this isn’t the complete answer. There are hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of live viruses on Windows computers around the world. There are no actual viruses for Mac, only a few ‘trojans’ loose in the wild. Surely there would be some hackers out there that would write them if they knew how, right?

Both sides of the story have some truth to them. Yes, more hackers write for Windows. Yes, OS X is also more inherently secure (just an example, ANY PROGRAM that gets downloaded to your Mac, whether you’re aware of it or not, will not be able to run unless it gets permission from an administrative user, along with their password). There do exist some vulnerabilities in Apple’s system, but Apple is very good about issuing security updates for known problems.

Bottom Line: Antivirus software on a Mac will mostly not be scanning for Mac viruses, but it will check for Windows viruses that it might be possible to transfer from the Mac to a PC on the same network. Most Mac AV software will chew up your system resources and make things move very slowly. I don’t use any, and until there are some reported bugs out there on the internet that circumvent the security features OS X has in place, I’ll continue to be free of both viruses AND antivirus software.

Any questions/comments, let me know.