If you've got you're Mac set up right, and you're wary of opening emails from strangers, then you shouldn't really worry about your Mac becoming infected with a virus. Still that doesn't mean the Mac is virus free, and as you find more and more Mac users, so does the number of viruses on the Apple platform increase.

McAfee Virex is an nifty little tool that you can set up on your Mac to scan any file for viruses. The application is unobtrusive and scans any file fairly quickly. If it does encounter a virus, McAfee will clean the file for you.

The application also includes a scheduler, which you can set up to launch automatic scan tasks at specific times in the week. These can be assigned to specific files, much more effective and less draining on your resources than if you'd ask McAfee Virex to scan your whole drive every time.

It's best to use McAfee Virex while you're connected to the Internet, as you'll then benefit from the constantly updated virus library. The application includes a link to the library, handy if you want to look up information on a specific virus.

I did find the installation a little long, especially for such a small program, and was a little disappointed not to find a shortcut for quick scanning of files, whether in the menu bar or in file menus.

Despite these two small drawbacks, McAfee Virex is an effective scanner to monitor for infected files on your Mac.