Introduction
ClamXav is a free virus checker for Mac OS X. It uses the tried, tested and very popular ClamAV open source antivirus engine as a back end.
Back in the days before OS X, the number of viruses which attacked Macintosh users totalled somewhere between about 60 and 80. 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. For example, if you're a wise person and you've turned MS Office's macro support off then you're not going to notice that virus which is hiding inside this month's edition of Extreme Ironing.doc which your friend sent you. If you then forward that document to a less wise person who has not turned off the macro support, then you have most likely just sent him a shiny new Pandora's Box with a sign saying "Open this end"!
Flippancy aside, I'm sure you get the idea: check the file before opening and/or sending it on to someone else. This gives you the opportunity to avoid the file altogether or at least copy and paste any vital information into a new document and send that instead.
Don't forget, if you run VirtualPC you can still become infected and lose valuable data on your Mac even though technically you're running Windows inside a sandbox. VPC will run any application you tell it to, virus or no virus, it doesn't know the difference. You can protect yourself slightly by not using VPC's "shared folders", but that's a useful feature which you shouldn't have to be without.
^ TOPHow did it come about?
I was looking for a low cost solution to scanning emails, documents and downloads for viruses. The open-source ClamAV project seemed to fit the bill. I used it for a few months, but soon tired of using the command line to operate it, so I took it upon myself to develop a graphical front-end in my own spare time. ClamXav is the result.
^ TOPIs it really free?
I hope you like and use ClamXav a lot and that it helps keep you and your friends/colleagues virus-free. Although I'm providing ClamXav for free, I am increasingly spending more and more time developing it and would really appreciate if you would consider making a donation please. All donations (no matter how small) are gratefully received and would be a huge incentive to help me work on future versions of ClamXav, but more importantly I rely on donations to pay for my bandwidth costs. Please consider it.
Friendly backup reminder
This software has the ability to move files on your computer, therefore it is absolutely vital that you back up any important data before running ClamXav. While it is possible to move files back to wherever they were moved from (see the FAQ), I regret that I can not be expected to offer assistance in this matter.
^ TOPComments & Suggestions
If you have any comments, bug reports, or simply need help using ClamXav, please consult the documentation in the first instance. If you're still none the wiser, please try the forums.
^ TOPVersion History
This section has now moved to the Download Page.