Now if this was a windows post, you know one of the first responses would be to get a Mac and be safe. Looks like Mac users may want to consider running Windows 7 to secure their machines.
Such malware doesn’t cause symptoms unless the Mac owners run Windows on their machines, but it can be spread to others.
but
but
but
Mac’s are immune.
We have thousands of posts on FR during the last decade that say so.
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“Looks like Mac users may want to consider running Windows 7 to secure their machines.”
Huh? The article says that most of this malware is Windows malware that apparently only runs if the user runs Windows on their Mac. What did I miss?
The article fails to support the headlne — 1 in 5 Mac users who bothered to download this company’s AV kit had malware, and only if they were running Windows on their Mac.
But since headlines about Mac malware draw eyes, who cares if the article body paints a completely different picture than the hyped-up lead?
Actually, it wasn’t all that interesting, and I run Mac, Linux, and Windows machines. If you read the article closely, you surely noticed only 2.7% of Macs were infected with Mac OS malware. That seems pretty low to me. The 1 in 5 figure was for Macs with Windows software, i.e. Boot Camp. Based on my experiences, Mac OS is by far a better operating system as far as malware. That’s not saying Windows and Linux don’t have their own advantages. They do.
So is article this saying that Macs are the host carriers for viruses and malware?
Think about it, 1 in 5 macs have the stuff and it doesn’t affect them. However, you copy files from a mac to a flash drive and give it to a user with a PC and they could get infected with something. Of course, then the Mac user throws up their arms and says, “not my problem, I’m on a Mac.” I’m scared to accept files from Mac users now.
So, if a Mac has malware written for Windows, then the only threat is if if the Mac User boots his Mac up into Windows. But, then this is still rather unbelieveable - because Windows has several good, FREE virus/trojan/worm/malware programs that are freely available.
So, without regard to what OS you are running - a 'smart' user is going to have something to screen his data from the malware that is freely available on the internet. I think the dsys of "security by obscurity" are officially over.
LOL. So much for the hype about Macs being above having malware issues.
You must be very,very,very,very, lonely.
Mac users have been hiding behind the mask of insignificance for a long time...welcome to the big time Apple lovers...you finally made it! Don’t ya feel great now?
and BTW...SECURITY THROUGH OBSCURITY doesn’t work.....you now have work to do..
Chevy sux, Ford rox! Sheesh! Nothing really changes. LOL
The report, released on Tuesday, is based on a “100,000-strong snapshot” of the millions of Macs that downloaded Sophos’s free Mac antivirus software. The study found that 20% of Macs were carrying one or more instances of Windows malware.
I am STILL looking to find widespread reports of the users reporting finding the Flashback trojan on their INFECTED Mac computers on the help forums! I am not finding them. They are JUST NOT THERE... yet the honey pot that Doctor Web reported they have—which reported upwards of 600,000 infected Macs, which we now KNOW was not true and the number keeps dropping—keeps reporting the UUID's of KNOWN TO BE NON-INFECTED Macs, including brand-new, just out of the box iMacs with OSX Lion (which does not have Java installed), as being members of the supposed Mac botnet! Since this is not possible! I maintain it is most likely a hoax of a very small Trojan threat that does exist in the wild and the so-called honey pot is merely a list of known UUIDs assigned to Apple. . . otherwise we would be SEEING a lot of people with infected Macs. We simply are not seeing them.
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
Most of us have long been told that the only reason for a Mac to us AV was out of kindness to MSFT.
Truthfully, my kindness was lacking. It is a two-way street after all. I mean rather than making me deal with AV subscriptions why don't they just GET A MAC!!
Lets be HONEST here... Yes, I know that is difficult for some:
How many of those supposedly “1 in 5” macs are actually “INFECTED” vs. those who happen to have some file sitting in an email that some infected Windows user sent (intentionally or accidentally or unknowingly) to them. That file carries a worm/virus/trojan that has not actually infected that Mac... nor will/can it unless executed in a Windows environment.
If that Mac user never forwards that file/email to someone else - it isn’t an issue.
As far as the whole thumb drive or other file sharing methods being a danger to others - only if the Mac users were using the Windows environment and transferring files from within that environment. But notice the important part of that - WINDOWS environment.
So your statement that “Mac users may want to consider running Windows 7 to secure their machines.” then makes no sense - as it is the very Windows environment that is at issue and the vector of infection and/or distribution of those nasties.
The "1 in 5" figure is about WINDOWS MALWARE -- can't you even read???
The percentage of Macs with actual Mac malware is still extremely small.
Troll. And a fool.
And in case your Apple-hatred-soaked brain can't remember what you said that started your TROLLING spree, it was the above crap.
Troll.