Apple Adds Malware Blocker to Snow Leopard

Word on the street is Apple has added malware protection to Snow Leopard.

A lot of Apple fans boast about how their computer might be expensive, but at least they don't have to bother with any antivirus or malware protection. However, it seems those days are over as Apple has added malware protection to the latest version of its OS, OSX 10.6 or Snow Leopard.

First reported by Intego, the Register reports that the protection was quietly added earlier this month to build 10A432, which is the most recent build of Snow Leopard. However, the Reg goes on to cite a source that said the functionality was included in 10A421a, a much earlier build.

The feature is said to warn users if they try to install applications known to be malicious. However, according to the Register's anonymous source, it's quite limited; for one, it's only checking for two known Mac trojans, and two, it only flags those files if they were downloaded from the internet using Entourage, iChat, Safari, and a handful of other applications.

It might not be much, but it's definitely a step away from the belief that Mac users don't have to worry about viruses.

Image Credit: Intego