ICSA Labs has certified ESET NOD32 Antivirus Business Edition for use with the Mac Operating System. This is the first anti-malware product to receive Mac certification from ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon Business.

ICSA Labs awarded this designation – announced today at Macworld 2011 – to ESET for anti-virus detection under ICSA Labs' desktop/server anti-virus criteria, which is aimed at protecting end users from emerging and existing threats.

"The threat of spreading malware in a heterogeneous or mixed computing environment comprised of Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows PCs is a real security threat today," said Andrew Hayter, anti-malcode program manager of ICSA Labs. "That's why ICSA Labs is now offering certification for anti-virus devices that operate on Mac systems, which affords high levels of protection for end users under both operating systems."

Offering advanced security protection with an unobtrusive interface that runs in the background, ESET NOD32 Antivirus Business Edition for Mac OS X delivers real-time protection from attack and helps to facilitate compliance posture by providing up-to-date anti-malware protection for Mac, Windows and Linux platforms.

To earn this ICSA Labs' certification, ESET NOD32 Antivirus Business Edition for Mac OS X had to successfully prevent end users from becoming infected by in-the-wild and other computer viruses during a rigorous testing process. During testing, the product also demonstrated its ability to protect individual desktops, laptops and/or servers of residential users and organizations from self-replicating malicious code infection.

Anti-virus products receiving the ICSA Labs' certification must be able to detect viruses on demand; detect and prevent the replication of viruses on access; report no false positives; and log every virus detected. To provide an ongoing assessment on the protective quality of certified products, ICSA Labs continuously tests and retests products for compliance with its criteria. Subsequent releases and upgrades for certified products must be retested to meet the same criteria.

"Attaining the first ICSA Labs' certification for Mac is an important validation of the quality and strength of the protection that ESET provides for the Mac platform," said Dan Clark, vice president of marketing, ESET North America. "ESET is committed to delivering the best malware protection for businesses and consumers alike by providing aggressive, proactive cyber security software."

More information on ICSA Labs' anti-virus testing and certification program and requirements is available here, including a full list of certified products. This now includes products for the Mac operating system.