Posted on 03/14/2005 3:34:33 AM PST by Swordmaker
Another Mac PING... this for an article on Mac Security from the Bangkok Post.
If you want on or off the Mac Ping list, Freepmail me.
Windows XP users have that ability, but many don't bother with entering user/passwords at start up. I have a "guest" account on both my XP machines, and only the "Administrator" can install/uninstall/alter the Windows configuration.
But I bet that 97% of Windows users are operating in full Administrator mode.
They are actually, even those with multiple family accounts.
Its interesting you brought that up. I never thought about things like that when I ran windows machines.
Running linux and now mac os made me more aware of install priveleges and such. Especially with multiple people on one computer.
Congrats, rdb. You made a great choice :) I can't believe I went with anything less.
Virus Smirus. Big whoop. Still unaffected after so many years. Hint, don't click on things you shouldn't. Get anti-virus software and use it. Yawn. The virus crisis is over. The spyware crisis will soon be over and soon spam will be a thing of the past. Whatever the next scam will be will pass like all the rest.
Send users an email with an icon that said "Click on this and it will Kill your dog" and 2% of users that like their dogs will click on it. If you still get viruses on your computer, turn it off and get another job or hobby.
My die-hard-Mac-friend's Dell arrives tomorrow. She had to use the Windows machine at work (and got to enjoy the things she could do). Even after preaching the Mac dogma for years and faithfully buying each new Mac, she quietly ordered the Windows machine for her home and put her Mac away. Couldn't get the software from work to run on her Mac and "man, these PC's are cheap!". And, it works nicely with her iPod.
Did cyborg sell you on it? ;O)
Two reasons for why a Mac seems less vulnerable.
#1, far fewer hackers care about Macs because hardly anyone use them compared to PCs.
#2, the purpose originally for windows was to be almost automatic with windows and the internet for updates, and when it was made so, hackers were able to make access to it.
So if Mac ever gets a following in the future and their use grows, expect Macs to get more bugs.
Regarding MS, I think future versions will become more hack proof.
Of course if you click YES when you shouldn't, you can still invite adware or malware in under the best of situations.
The "Security by obscurity" claim has been shot down so many times I am not even going to bother doing it again... suffice it to say that the UNIX underpinnings of Mac OSX are considered "Industrial Strength" security.
#2, the purpose originally for windows was to be almost automatic with windows and the internet for updates, and when it was made so, hackers were able to make access to it.
To a certain extent I agree with this.. Windows problems arise from trusting too much... however, Macs also are updated from the internet and are set to check for updates automatically, but the difference is that on the Mac, before you can update or install software, you MUST enter your administrator password. Nothing can touch the core OS files without a proper password... and even that password does not get you access to anything that requires ROOT access.
Of course if you click YES when you shouldn't, you can still invite adware or malware in under the best of situations.
That's true on PCs... Macs still require that pesky password before anything gets installed. Just clicking "Yes" in email or on the internat won't do that much damage. Even then, it could only trash that particular user's files and could not touch anything else.
Macs aren't where the action is for hackers, the number of macs around this nation hardly approaches 10% and around the world the number probably falls like a rock from the USA numbers.
Most of these hacks, viruses, seem to come from Germany, Philippines, which have hardly ever heard of a Mac.
Not having access to such a machine, they know nothing about hacking it and being such a small number, hacking with viruses and such isn't going to be a satisfying for a Mac.
I believe "Security by scarcity around the world" is a legit issue.
On my #2, I think we will see MS improve the security and not have so much trust in the net.
Macs may have the "pesky" security code built in to load stuff, I'm sure you can increase security setting and block lots more access as well.
To be honest, I operate with only a Zone Alarm firewall and don't get infected.
You have to either approve loading or frequent lots of porn site to get infected IMO.
There are over 14,000,000 OSX Macs.... and four years that OSX has been in use.
There were far fewer OS9 and under users before OSX became available... and yet those hackers found Mac attractive then. There were at least 12 Mac viruses that came out in the last two years of the old operating system. So, now we have 14m Mac users and four years and the PSX virus count is still ZERO.
Why the sudden loss of hacker interest?
There has been ONE Trojan observed in the wild (a file claiming to be a pirated copy of MS Word for Mac) that trashed someone's user files because HE installed it... and one or two proofs of concept that did not have a vector AND to be effective required the user to be operating in ROOT, something that less than 1% of Mac users would do .
You should also note that UNIX is found in many servers... a target that is well worthy of any hackers efforts. More and more xServers are being installed and they are Unix AND OSX... again a good target that can hit all computers in the server's area of service.
There has been a large cash prize offered for any hacker who could compromise the UNIX security. I heard the prize was dropped because of lack of applicants. Those who tried, failed.
Those who program enterprise apps with UNIX state that while it IS theoretically possible to design a UNIX/OSX virus, the degree of difficulty is a NINE on a scale of one to ten where ONE is the degree of difficulty for writing a Windows virus.
You have to either approve loading or frequent lots of porn site to get infected IMO.
Actually, I don't think you get too many infections from porn sites... it does happen but for the most part, they are businesses who don't want to piss off their potential customers. The REAL culprits are on-line game sites. ALmost every time I have found a client's PC heavily infested with Malware its because some kid visited an on-line game site...
Nawwww not me...you can run that penguin software on a powerbook :-)
Congrats. Did you get root yet?
A friend just finished a computer forensics class (geared towards law enforcement and investigation applications) and utilized the knowledge thus gleaned to have a look at his hard drive at home (Wintel system). Said he was taken aback by the amount of garbage on his system, and can only attribute it to the gaming sites he's visited.
So yeah, I can second your observation, in a second hand kind of way.
Virus? Which virus is that Bush? How did it get there, Bush? What self-propagating vector are you proposing?
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