The Next Web made a well-received announcement a few days ago that was for many people a wish come true: the popular VirusTotal Uploader was released in a version adapted for OS X. The news that Mac users will be able to enjoy the abilities of this malware scanning tool was something we have all been rooting for, of course. Considering the high profile protection skills of the software, what’s there not to like? Macs have been in an overdue need of a better protection and security strategy, and this was just the magic wand to amp it up. No one is implying that there was any problem with Macs’ previous security levels, but the addition of VirusTotal Uploader to the mix will make them even tougher and, more importantly, highly competitive on the IT market.

Speaking of the IT market and the race to equip one’s computer products with the best software possible, a look to the authorship involved here is interesting. VirusTotal Uploader is a product of VirusTotal, of course, but the company is a subsidiary of Google, and the move to provide Macs with their software is not something everyone would expect to happen with ease. Apple and Google have been on this historical trend of competition that got pretty aggressive at some point. On the other hand, since the world (and especially the IT world) is so interconnected nowadays, perhaps the move shouldn’t be so surprising actually. Anyway, since acquiring VirusTotal in 2012, Google promised to allow it to continue operating independently; maybe that’s also an explanation for the new release.

Anyway, VirusTotal clearly benefits from this release of its product for OS X as well. The company has transparently stated that they hope their platform will receive more submissions from Mac applications and thus head deeper into OS territory, a territory of specific malware threats that was inaccessible so far. The attackers that target OS in particular will not only be charted better by the VirusTotal platform (which is in their best interest), but will also have a harder time from now on (which is in Mac users interest). All in all, it’s a win-win situation for everyone: Mac users get security, VirusTotal gets precious info, Google gets revenue.

For those of you yet unfamiliar with the way VirusTotal Uploader works, the great thing about it is the fact that it allows users to upload suspicious files to an online scanning platform. The platform, VirusTotal, proceeds then to scan the submitted file and almost instantly offers the user a variety of over 50 antivirus solutions. So VirusTotal Uploader isn’t really an antivirus, but something much, much better: a way to assess the situation and choose from the best antiviruses there are. Malware protection couldn’t really get more organized than that. And it’s also so simple: all it takes is a drag and drop and then the platforms deals with everything; the user just needs to choose from the suggested solutions with a right-click.

While it’s true that VirusTotal Uploader will mainly be used by professionals and by offices in the security industry, the fact that it will allow the platform to know the specific OS threats better will be useful for everyone. The software solutions developed for standard Mac users will slowly get better because of it, and obviously that will make the operating easier and smoother for all Macs.

We’re all concerned with maintaining Mac’s optimal performance, and a good and efficient malware protection strategy is an essential part of that. Suspicious and harmful files can slow down any computer’s activity considerably, and Macs are no exception. But with the release of VirusTotal Uploader for Mac, any security threat will be dealt with faster and more efficient, and a welcome side-effect will be the improved performance.