With massive FUD over healthcare insurance reform, what better time to tackle the topic of anti-virus software for Mac OS X. The fact is Apple recommends that Mac users run up-to-date AV software, and even includes a free product called ClamAV with Mac OS X Server. There are no known true viruses for Mac OS X, but Trojan horse builders are starting to get pretty good at tricking users (more examples) into escorting them by OS X's security checkpoints. Humans are the weakest link in the best security plans so extra security helps in this case.
Sophos is a security vendor largely unknown to consumers that primarily caters to small businesses and enterprises. It's a shame that they don't sell a single-user home license because their Mac client is elegant and effective. (The least expensive Sophos AV package is a 3-user SBE license, which works out to about $45 a user per year.) Sophos does its job while consuming miniscule resources unlike more well known consumer AV brands whose Mac software is often as heinous as their overhyped PC counterparts. Sophos also detects Windows malware—harmless to OS X—which is useful when sharing files with PC users who are often unwitting or resigned to being computer virus carriers.
