Symantec 6.0 Mac MAC User Guide - Page 9

CHAPTER Installing Norton AntiVirus 1 Welcome to Norton AntiVirus for Macintosh Norton AntiVirus provides comprehensive virus prevention, detection, and elimination software for your Macintosh computer. As the world's leading antivirus software for Macintosh systems, it finds and repairs infected files to keep your data safe and secure. Easy updating of virus definitions over the Internet keeps Norton AntiVirus prepared for the latest threats. What is a virus? A computer virus is a parasitic program written by an ill-intentioned programmer. Viruses are spread through disks, local networks, and the Internet. Computer viruses attach to programs. Some viruses, such as macro viruses, spread via Microsoft Office files and can be transferred between PCs and Macintosh computers. Macro viruses are not known to damage Macintosh operating systems or hardware, but they can damage Microsoft Office data files and spread whenever you open an infected file. What are virus definitions? Virus definitions are files that contain virus footprints that let Norton AntiVirus recognize viruses and intercept their activity. You can look up virus names in Norton AntiVirus, and access an encyclopedia of virus descriptions on the Symantec Web site. For more information, see "Looking up virus names and definitions" on page 32. 9