To the best of my knowledge there is no trojan/virus that self installs on osx without an admin password and no hack that doesn’t require LAN access. The current one (flashback) is a piece of , what I call trickware, that makes the user think they are installing Adobe Flash. We get to clicking pretty fast sometimes and don’t ponder what we are actually installing due to the comfort level we have had over the years with the mac. Times have changed, need to pay attention. Keep system up to date. Clam AV is ok but it needs to be kept updated as well. I run on static IP’s so no NAT to protect some of my machines so good firewall SW is necessary. I use Virus Barrier among others which has a customizable rule driven firewall and excellent virus /trojan protection. I keep a log open on all activity on the firewall and you would be amazed at how ofter you get probed by china, mexico, Middle east countries, SEA countries, Russia and hords of domestic sources. Other than tightly managed ports (default closed) I actively block over 2,500 IP’s adding new ones daily.
Nothing is bullet proof. My advise.. keep current os sys SW, a good AV and firewall scheme and close attention to what your clicking as a practice will keep you running clean and worry free... common sense for either a mac or PC
Thank you,brother. That was what I was looking for.
“To the best of my knowledge there is no trojan/virus that self installs on osx without an admin password and no hack that doesn’t require LAN access.”
This Flashback virus exploits a Java vulnerability and is able to install if you haven’t installed yesterday’s Java patch (check software update) and visit a site crafted to distribute the malware. No password needed.
Yesterday’s patch does address the vulnerability, and if you do a little searching there are instructions to make sure your machine isn’t infected, and to clean it if it is. Supposedly this virus does nothing malicious, but it does set your system up for remote control - supposedly the control server has been taken down.
There is free AV software for the Mac, and Apple is constantly working to keep things secure. The situation is still far better than on Windows, and IMO both the OS and the bundled apps are superior.