iAntivirus

Free virus protection from the makers of Norton

iAntivirus for Mac was originally developed by PC Tools in 2008 but has been taken over by Symantec, the makers of Norton Antivirus on Windows. Our iAntivirus review takes a look at what’s changed and how iAntivirus for Mac performs.

The new version of iAntivirus features specific protection for iPhoto and iTunes files as well as Facebook walls to keep you protected from online fraud. It features a simple “carousel” interfaces that lets you use two fingers in Lion to swipe between your home folder and full system and other scanning options.

iAntivirus for Mac also ensures that you are protected from Windows threats too if you’re working in a virtual environment. Unlike the Windows version however, there is no background scanning or on-access scanning. It also prompts you with pop-ups where you want to scan when performing manual scans because of Apple’s sandboxing restrictions in OS X.

iAntivirus is a bit of a resource hog and can consume 100% of your CPU when you perform manual scans although OS X may distribute this in a way that doesn’t slow it down too much. However, as free scanners go, it’s not that much worse than most other anti-virus solutions on Mac.

Symantec iAntivirus for Mac is not as comprehensive as it is on Windows and hogs resources but it has a simple interface and is the only antivirus to check Facebook walls.

Updated Virus and Malware DefinitionsSmaller memory footprint