Disinfectant (software)

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Disinfectant
Developer(s)John Norstad at Northwestern University
Initial releaseMarch 18, 1989; 35 years ago (1989-03-18)[1]
Final release
3.7.1 / July 1997; 26 years ago (1997-07)[2]
Operating systemClassic Mac OS
LicenseFreeware[3]

Disinfectant was a popular antivirus software program for the classic Mac OS. It was originally released as freeware by John Norstad in the spring of 1989.[3] Disinfectant featured a system extension that would detect virus infections and an application with which users could scan for and remove viruses.[4] New versions of Disinfectant were subsequently released to detect additional viruses.[4] Bob LeVitus praised and recommended Disinfectant in 1992.[5] In May 1998, Norstad retired Disinfectant, citing the new danger posed by macro viruses, which Disinfectant did not detect, and the inability of a single individual to maintain a program that caught all of them.[3][6]

References

  1. ^ Norstad, John (1998-10-11). "Disinfectant Retired". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
  2. ^ Ducan, Geoff (1997-07-14). "Disinfectant 3.7.1". TidBITS. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
  3. ^ a b c Anbinder, Mark H. (1998-05-11). "John Norstad Retires Disinfectant". TidBITS. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
  4. ^ a b Borrell, Jerry (1991-01-01). Macworld Read Me First Book. IDG Books. p. 219. ISBN 9781878058195.
  5. ^ LeVitus, Bob (1992). Dr. Macintosh's Guide to the On-Line Universe. Addison-Wesley. p. 270.
  6. ^ "Disinfectant: Macintosh Anti-Viral Utility". Apple Inc. 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2016-04-06.