Us Mac users aren't that safe anymore
Nov 4, 2007, 10:10 am
#1
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Us Mac users aren't that safe anymore
http://news.digitaltrends.com/news/s...rojan_surfaces
So stay away from porn sites. Don't accept any "updates" to quicktime if you do visit porn sites.
On personal experience, most infected computers I've serviced in my days working at an ISP were user errors.
Come to think of it - I believe all were user error.
/E
So stay away from porn sites. Don't accept any "updates" to quicktime if you do visit porn sites.
On personal experience, most infected computers I've serviced in my days working at an ISP were user errors.
Come to think of it - I believe all were user error.
/E
Nov 4, 2007, 10:55 am
#2
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Anyone who thinks Macs are immune from this sort of thing is under a serious delusion.
Less attractive to malware writers because of lower market share: yes. (As their market share grows, which it seems to be doing, they may become more attractive this way, but for the foreseeable future we're still talking single-digit percentages.)
Harder to crack because of the Unix underpinning of the OS: yes.
Immune: no. This just proves it.
Less attractive to malware writers because of lower market share: yes. (As their market share grows, which it seems to be doing, they may become more attractive this way, but for the foreseeable future we're still talking single-digit percentages.)
Harder to crack because of the Unix underpinning of the OS: yes.
Immune: no. This just proves it.
Nov 4, 2007, 12:02 pm
#3
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Anyone who thinks Macs are immune from this sort of thing is under a serious delusion.
Less attractive to malware writers because of lower market share: yes. (As their market share grows, which it seems to be doing, they may become more attractive this way, but for the foreseeable future we're still talking single-digit percentages.)
Harder to crack because of the Unix underpinning of the OS: yes.
Immune: no. This just proves it.
Less attractive to malware writers because of lower market share: yes. (As their market share grows, which it seems to be doing, they may become more attractive this way, but for the foreseeable future we're still talking single-digit percentages.)
Harder to crack because of the Unix underpinning of the OS: yes.
Immune: no. This just proves it.
Mac's have never been immune just not attractive enough for the hackers to get in to. But just as you say - higher market share the attraction goes up.
So far I don't think there is a need to panic. A careful user will not do an update when visiting a website. I always surf to the software site and check there first.
Never click on attachments unless I know the sender and it is an attachment I've been waiting for. Anything else goes in the trash. The "better be safe than sorry" approach has stuck from my PC days.
/E
Nov 4, 2007, 12:30 pm
#4
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This is just the latest item to hit the news so that people can say "Ha, you guys are in trouble". But it's still relatively minor compared to what any Windows machine faces every day.
Does this mean a Mac user should do nothing? No. People should always be prudent. But the sky isn't falling here. "Aren't that safe" is not really a reasonable description. Standard precautions protect you from this, as usual. The utterly clueless might be harmed, as usual.
And once again it is a company with a vested interest in selling security and antivirus software for the Mac that is publicizing it.
Does this mean a Mac user should do nothing? No. People should always be prudent. But the sky isn't falling here. "Aren't that safe" is not really a reasonable description. Standard precautions protect you from this, as usual. The utterly clueless might be harmed, as usual.
And once again it is a company with a vested interest in selling security and antivirus software for the Mac that is publicizing it.
Nov 4, 2007, 6:07 pm
#5
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http://news.digitaltrends.com/news/s...rojan_surfaces
So stay away from porn sites. Don't accept any "updates" to quicktime if you do visit porn sites.
On personal experience, most infected computers I've serviced in my days working at an ISP were user errors.
Come to think of it - I believe all were user error.
/E
So stay away from porn sites. Don't accept any "updates" to quicktime if you do visit porn sites.
On personal experience, most infected computers I've serviced in my days working at an ISP were user errors.
Come to think of it - I believe all were user error.
/E
Nov 4, 2007, 6:34 pm
#6
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Because the porn industry has consistently proven itself in the vanguard of technology? It's only a ghetto in your mind - trends developed their flow quickly to the mainstream especially with viruses!
Nov 4, 2007, 6:51 pm
#7
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http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=629
Unlike Windows though, this one certainly isn't going to leap out the browser at you. It requires a fair bit of active participation on the part of the user to get it installed.
Nov 5, 2007, 12:02 am
#8
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Nov 5, 2007, 5:31 am
#9
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Nov 5, 2007, 7:01 am
#10
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Aside from the possibility that some of us may knowingly visit both FT and porn sites, one sometimes gets there by accident. A high-school senior, then in my household, once went to whitehouse.com (NSFW!) in the school library instead of whitehouse.gov. While this incident didn't result in any damage to the computer, that sort of thing happens for any number of reasons. One should be aware of all the risks besides going blind.
Nov 5, 2007, 7:36 am
#11
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Uh, most Windows viruses also require a fair bit of active participation to get it installed. Might be why I haven't been infected in many years.
Nov 5, 2007, 8:29 am
#12
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However, how many that 'accidentally' arrive there will then actually download a dmg file ??? Anyone who uses a pc/WinXP and/or Mac OS who does so always runs risk of an infection (no pun intended)....that's always been the case, and certainly not new.
Anyway, i guess we have different opinion re whether this is useful or not...I'll remain silent after this post.
Nov 5, 2007, 10:09 am
#13
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Nov 7, 2007, 12:43 pm
#14
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Nov 7, 2007, 11:30 pm
#15
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It doesn't have to be only porn sites... Some other sites like Torrents, warez, or another illegal downloading sites are also installing spywares on macs through the "quicktime plugin update".