ClamXav ready for Mac Gatekeeper and sandboxing

ClamXav in action
Source: Mark Allan Version 2.3 of the free ClamXav virus scanner for Mac OS X is now available to download. The update is based on the current 0.97.5 release of the GPLv2-licensed ClamAV anti-virus engine and adds support for system-wide preferences for all users.

In preparation for the upcoming Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion release, the project's lead developer, Mark Allan, has signed the application with an Apple-issued Developer ID so that it will work with the new Gatekeeper security feature in 10.8. This means that under Mountain Lion, users who download and install applications that have been signed will no longer receive an alert that it comes from an unknown source and could be malicious.

The developer notes that major update also implements "big changes under the hood" in order to support sandboxing; however, the feature is not yet enabled by default. Users can copy details from the Infected List using keyboard shortcuts, and RAM usage has been reduced. Some bugs that caused the application to crash have also been fixed.

ClamXav 2.3 requires Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or later. It is available to download as a 16.7MB DMG file – existing users can upgrade by selecting "Check for ClamXav Updates" from the application menu. At the time of writing, the Mac App Store version is still at 2.2.4 as ClamXav 2.3 is "currently awaiting review from Apple".

(crve)