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Report: Antivirus feature for Snow Leopard?

Mac security firm Intego says reports, and a screenshot, suggest that the forthcoming update to Apple's OS could have an antimalware feature.

Tom Espiner Special to CNET News
Apple

The next version of Apple's OS X, which is due out Friday, may bundle antivirus capabilities.

Mac security firm Intego said that the latest version of the operating system, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, could have an antimalware feature, according to reports, in a blog post Tuesday.

The company published a screenshot which it said was of the security feature detecting a Trojan in a download, made via Apple's Safari Web browser.

Intego pointed out that the most recent Mac adverts compare Mac security favorably to PCs. However, security experts have historically been divided over the relative security of Microsoft and Apple code, while some point out that any comparison is further complicated by the differing market penetration of Macs and PCs.

Tom Espiner of ZDNet UK reported from London.