AVG antivirus coming to iPhone and OS X

For antivirus software maker AVG, the iPhone not only needs software to protect it from malware, but is on course to get some, hopefully by the end of 2010.

In an interview with CNET UK, JR Smith, CEO of AVG (pictured), discussed his vision for producing antimalware software for Apple's tellingbone, and also revealed to us that a full AVG desktop product will be coming to OS X next year.

"I'd love to see it towards the end of next year," Smith said of an AVG product for iPhone OS. "Really, it's less about AV [and more to do with] protecting and stopping anything from getting on there, in real-time. [Malware creators] will use the Web to propagate on to these devices as much as they possibly can."

Furthermore, Smith believes smart phones will be a relevant target for malware and viruses within "18 months to 2 years".

Mac, OS X and games consoles

The epic complication the company is seeing is that the iPhone doesn't allow applications to run in the background, which could thwart the possibility of real-time protection. "It's something we're working on," Smith explained. "We can't add a layer of protection on to the iPhone today, so that's a lot of the conversation that we're having with Apple." 

But next year, AVG hopes to release a full desktop AV product for the Mac and OS X, and is even considering the portable gaming console market.

"Right now, everyone's saying 'Hey, Mac is completely not vulnerable,' but in fact yes it is. Very. And we're worried about it," Smith confessed.

"We'll have a free Mac LinkScanner product [for Safari] this year. Because that, to us, is where you need to be protected the most -- while you're online. And we're looking at, in the roadmap for next year, an actual Mac product. It'll be full-on antivirus and antispyware, though a firewall we're debating. We're also looking at other phones and Game Boys."

Antivirus on a DS? Someone tell Team 17. The next version of Worms could be as useful as it is addictive.

AVG's current free product is AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition, which you can download from free.avg.com. The company offers two paid products -- AVG Anti-Virus Pro and AVG Internet Security -- which start from £30.

Don't miss our complete feature on cloud-based antivirus, which you can read here.