Developer(s) | John Norstad at Northwestern University |
---|---|
Initial release | March 18, 1989[1] |
Final release | 3.7.1
/ July 1997[2] |
Operating system | Classic Mac OS |
License | Freeware[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]