ClamXav, the free virus checker for Mac OS X, has been updated to version 2.0.2 beta and is available for download today. ClamXav uses the ClamAV open source antivirus engine as a backend and is able to successfully check for viruses.

According to the release notes for ClamXav 2.0.2 beta, developer Mark Allan added a "Scan with ClamXav" item in the Services menu, noting that users now had to log out and back in again to make this work. The finder contextual menu "Scan with ClamXav" is now available for (10.6) Snow Leopard users.

The same log-in-and-out routine applies to enable the functionality. The software now prevents drag and drop if a scan/update is running and has much better memory usage when scanning large folders, according to the changelog. The beta program also ensures that the full summary appears at the end of a scan and adds French localization. Three bugs have been addressed as well (listed below).

· Fixed a crash which could occur during startup.
· Fixed a crash which could occur during scans.
· Fixed a crash which could occur whilst saving preferences.

“Back in the days before OS X, the number of viruses which attacked Macintosh users totaled somewhere between about 60 and 80,” Mark Allan (ClamXav.com) says. “Today, the number of viruses actively attacking OS X users is...NONE! However, this doesn't mean we should get complacent about checking incoming email attachments or web downloads, for two reasons. Firstly, there's no guarantee that we Mac users will continue to enjoy the status quo, but more importantly, the majority of the computing world use machines running MS Windows, for which an enormous quantity of viruses exist, so we must be vigilant in checking the files we pass on to our friends and colleagues etc,” the developer explains.

Note
Since ClamXav has the ability to move files on a computer, it is imperative that users back up any important data before running the software.

Download ClamXav (Free)