Traditionally, one of the big selling points of Apple’s Mac OS X, one that the company has not neglected to boast as often as possible, was that the software is less susceptible to viruses than Windows. And while Apple’s advertisements and support documents have been wont to use the word virus in the past, the company has recently revised the Apple Support article on antivirus utilities, taking a slightly different stance. The updated version of the article was pointed out by the Mac Observer but has since been taken down by Apple. According to the Mac Observer news piece however, the Apple knowledge base article encouraged the use of “multiple antivirus utilities so that virus programmers have more than one application to circumvent, thus making the whole virus writing process more difficult.

Mac viruses certainly do exist, a notorious example being the RSPlug Trojan, but Windows viruses are far more widespread, and Windows’ lower security makes them easier to get. The article would seem to suggest running more than one antivirus application on one machine, but that would be a waste of resources. It is this our belief that the article meant running varied antivirus solutions so that virus writers would have a harder time of countering them all. Apple recommends three such utilities: Intego VirusBarrier, Symantec Norton Antivirus, and McAfee VirusScan. The former two sell on the Apple Store for $70 and $50 ($30 with rebate) respectively.

Macs have not of late suddenly become that much more vulnerable to viruses, and Apple’s article may have been meant as a pre-emptive measure. Perhaps when and if it goes back up it will be otherwise worded. Considering the lawsuit-happy throngs who like to sue Apple for pretty much anything, it may be a good idea to do so.