In what could be seen as confirmation of the increasing popularity of Macs, both ESET and Sophos have released antivirus tools designed specifically for OS X. ESET Cybersecurity and Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac have been made available free of charge and offer to protect Macs from the threat of viruses and malware.

Both applications have been designed with Macs in mind – this means that you not only have a choice of effective security software for your Mac, but also software that looks great. In both instances, one of the key reasons for having protective software installed is not necessarily to ensure that your Mac is protected.

There are still relatively few viruses that have been designed for Macs. But the platform’s increased popularity means that it is becoming a target for virus writers looking for a new way to attack Windows and Linux based machines. By planting malware on a Mac, it is possible to use it as a carrier to infect other machines that may be connected to the same network even if the true aim isn’t to infect the Mac itself.

As things stand, both applications are currently available free of charge. This will continue to be the case for Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac, although for the beta version of ESET is likely to transform into a paid app when the final product is released.

To find out more and download protective security software for your Mac, pay a visit to the ESET Cybersecurity and Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac web sites.