Posted on 12/08/2008 8:11:18 AM PST by Salo
Apple's Security Paradox Andy Greenberg, 12.03.08, 06:47 PM EST
Even as Macs have multiplied, the number of viruses and Trojans targeting them has fallen.
As Apple's slice of the computer market grows, cyber security researchers have long warned that hackers would someday turn their attention away from PCs and toward innocent Macbooks and iPhones.
That day, it turns out, has yet to come....
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Pings.
WARNING! THIS THREAD HAS AN APPLE VIRUS!
I got MacScan for my computers. Ran it everyday for a month last fall. Not one virus etc found.
Beware of lock salesmen quoting burglary statistics.
You said — “I got MacScan for my computers. Ran it everyday for a month last fall. Not one virus etc found.”
I’ve run various anti-virus programs on many Macs, over a period of about 22 years or more — and have only found one virus in all that time (back in 1990). Nothing ever before and since then, with all those Macs and much use in exchanging information, accessing BBs and now the Internet, and getting plenty of e-mail and everything else you can think of.
It just doesn’t happen with the Macs... LOL...
It’s nice not having to be worried about those nasty little bugs...
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
I got AVG Free Antivirus for my PC, and run it everyday.
Found only one virus in the last 6 years.
I saw quite a few Mac viruses when I was an editor at my college newspaper. Our writers brought in their stories on floppies from the campus computer labs, which were riddled with them. There was a freeware utility, Disinfectant, that took care of them all.
I haven’t seen a Mac virus since 1991. Those earlier viruses, of course, are irrelevant to OS X (even Classic; I think the vulnerabilities were patched in version 8).
On the 68K-based Macs back in those days, writing a virus was sooooo much easier. All the code loaded by the Resource Manager was PIC, the 68K was an easy chip for which to hand-roll code, etc. Oh, and there were hooks all over the ROM and system, which if patched, would allow a virus writer to grab the machine. Then there was the matter of the 68K interrupt vectors. Oh, the fun you could have if you knew how to write interrupt code for the 68K.
Good times.
Today... well, it is a very different world. Protected memory, no “hooking” by simply jamming your function address into some memory location, etc. Boo hoo.
I think I still have the Disinfectant manual on my system. :-D
Maybe you should try a different program, one that actually works. :)
Bookmark.
You said — “I saw quite a few Mac viruses when I was an editor at my college newspaper. Our writers brought in their stories on floppies from the campus computer labs, which were riddled with them. There was a freeware utility, Disinfectant, that took care of them all.”
—
I remember Disinfectant. I tried that one, too, along with a bunch of others. I did use Virex for a long time and now Intego Virus Barrier. But, nothing has happened (i.e., no viruses or other little bugs and nasty things for the Mac OS X).
During the time that you describe, I think there were more reported viruses (which was very small compared to DOS and Windows) than we’ve seen in this whole time that we’ve had Mac OS X.
Talking about Disinfectant takes me back a while, back to those floppies, modems and the BBS[s]. :-)
That's my view too.
When Apple gets the games that PCs get I’ll switch. Vista bytes except in games.
Rush upgraded to fully loaded Intel Mac Pros a couple of years ago. No more G5s.
Macs can run all those Windows games.
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