Will Snow Leopard Include Antivirus?

Even as Apple continues to run ads ridiculing PCs for their virus threats, rumors are circulating that Snow Leopard, the latest version of their OS due for release this Friday, will include some sort of antivirus functionality.

The report comes from competing anti-malware vendor Intego on their Mac Security Blog. They pass on reports, including the screen shot above.

A follow-up blog from the Joshmeister looks at the naming of the malware in the screen shot and concludes that the engine could be Symantec's.

It's either true or it's a hoax. If it's true then it's bad news for other companies trying to compete in the Mac AV space, but it's probably good news for Mac users.

The reports don't address the hard question: Assuming the rumors are true, will users get an update subscription, or will the Snow Leopard AV be just another trialware product for most users, valueless after a few months?

Hat tip to Slashdot.