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"End of the innocence for Mac fans" - BBC Report - Interesting Read

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Came across this article last night while I was browsing the BBC website, thought I would post as its quite an interesting read:

End of the innocence for Mac fans

Doesn't change my thoughts on how awesome Mac & OSX are though ;D

Chris :Smirk:
 
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I agree with you. The "virus" requires alot of user infallability to work. That's , as the author states, not the fault of the OS.
 
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Meh, I'll keep my Mac safe the same way I kept my PC virus-free for many years: use common sense and only download/open things I know I can trust.
 
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I agree with you. The "virus" requires alot of user infallability to work. That's , as the author states, not the fault of the OS.

And unfortunately, this will probably raise a huge debate, but to some extent, isn't that the case with Vista? I know XP was a bit more vulnerable, but if you're not getting rid of the annoying security pop ups, paying attention to your system, not browing porn and warez sites, and generally operating the OS intelligently, wouldn't the OS not be as much at fault as people like to point out.

I know if some one wants to give you a virus on a windows system, you're probably going to get a virus, but if you're operating your system in a safe fashion, then it's going to be much harder for the person/virus attacking your computer to do anything to it, including infect it at all.
 
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From the BBC story:
The problem is with his computer, as only six months after he moved from using a virus-prone Windows PC to a Macintosh computer the first serious threat to Mac users has been observed "in the wild".
The writer is ignorant of Mac history and what this "threat" is, or, deliberately and like the BBC in general, reinforces its "most-favoured-trading-partner" status with Microsoft.

Either way, it's more of the same tiresome FUD.
 
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i'd say the best advice is, oh, i dunno, DON'T INSTALL FILES FROM PORN SITES!
 
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This is a trojan, *not* a virus. And if you visit pron sites, well, 'nuff said.
 
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Hey You guys pwned ME!!!! You guys SAID no viruses with mac, no worms, no trojans no crashes, You all painted a rosy picture about macs, You Ba@#$&'s!

Just Kidding I am happy and never looking back, even If i had to buy virus software that wouldnt make the mac as ****** as windows!!
 
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Which anti-virus app did you buy, and why? There is no Mac-virus database because there are no Mac viruses, so what can the app check against?

Anyone who says there are no worms or trojans is ignorant of those that exist. A simple AppleScript could be a trojan. But you have to jump through hoops after swallowing a full bottle of "stupid" pills to load a trojan into your machine.
 
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Bill Thompson is generally favourable to macs, but this Trojan can only be installed if you are as Dumb as... well, the Trojans.

I bet the Greeks thought "I can't believe they fell for the old 100 warriors in the wooden horse trick"

I myself run the free ClamX vrius program and run in manually. It has only found 3 windows viruses, and those were in Thunderbird's junk mail folder, so they are sheduled to be deleted with a week.

I don't think us mac users should be entirely complacent but you only need to do 3 things to keep piece of mind.

1. Turn on Mac OS x's firewall

2. Use a mail program with a decent junk mail filter (this saves your valuable time as well)

3. Don't download stuff off porn or warez sites no matter how much you want to see Britnet Spears.

... and if something suddenly pops up requiring you to authenticate it, and you cant absolutely trust the source - hit no.
 
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To the point...
Do you get in a strangers Car?
Do you give out your social security number and mothers maiden name.
Most of us wont but there will always be a small number who are found dead form getting into a strangers car. And Others who lose everything for trusting the wrong people with there personal information.

Apple is not at fault. They have done a great job in making a Operating system that is user friendly and easy to use not to be confused with error proof. The User being the cause of a few of those Errors.
 
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Just Kidding I am happy and never looking back, even If i had to buy virus software that wouldnt make the mac as ****** as windows!!

The only use of anti-Virus software on Macs that I am aware of is to ensure you don't pass on a Windows Virus to others via email or file sharing. There are no known Mac Viruses that I am aware of.

Personally I don't really care much if my Windows buddies pass on Viruses to my other Windows buddies via my machine so I don't run any anti-virus apps.

Amen-Moses
 
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I'd have to agree that downloading something you don't trust and giving it access to your system is just .... well downright irresponsible.

I downloaded ClamXAV and I run it manually. Do I need it? Nope. Just have it on their so I can scan an occassional document I get from classmates so I don't pass on any mischevious files. If you use common sense when surfing the web though, you will be safe most times.

I say most times because sometimes legitmate websites get infected. I'm glad Mac OS X asks for a password before installing software behind the scenes. Many Window's computers do not which is a major downfall as my office found out last week. I spent all day Wednesday cleaning spyware off of computers and then spent most of Thursday doing it again. Why? Because of the several websites that had some of their advertisements infected including www.msn.com, www.yahoo.com, and www.usatoday.com. People saw an ad that said "click me" and they did not know better. eWeek published an article Friday saying that several legitmate websites had been infected and all my Network Administrator and I could say was "You don't say?"

Jacefox
 
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I'm sorry, but if a web site tells me I don't have the latest QT Codec, I go to my software update and check, not some random 3rd party link. This is like those dummy e-bay links that take to someplace that is obviously not e-bay.

This is the second thread on this Trojan (NOT a virus) and while it is out there, it's not going to install itself. The articles I've read appear, to me at least, to be merely inflammatory in nature and are raising an alarm for a problem that really doesn't exist unless you are just plain stupid.
 
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Well, I guess we all knew it was coming. As macs get more and more popular and apple gains a larger market share, more trojans will be released for the mac.
 
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In fairness, I had a difficult time with codecs when I switched. I had some AVI files created with CamStudio and the Microsoft MPEG4v2 codec. I went through several Google searches and non-working installs before I found Perian.

For a lot of us, the Mac world is still foreign, and it's not as easy to differentiate between scams and legitimate programs in this new world. Add that to the fact that many switchers are sold on the idea that we don't need to think about this sort of stuff with a Mac (I *never* thought that, but anyway many do), and that's a recipe for disaster. And saying "it's a Trojan and not a Virus" is disingenuous, and dodges the point, since most non-technical folk consider all malicious programs to be a virus.

No matter how you slice it, this is another chink in the Apple armor. If they were smart, they'd find a way to push an update through Software Update to alert users when they're about to install known viruses, trojans, or whatever. Something that would let QT recognize known items on some kind of blacklist would be nice...

J
 
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No matter how you slice it, this is another chink in the Apple armor. If they were smart, they'd find a way to push an update through Software Update to alert users when they're about to install known viruses, trojans, or whatever. Something that would let QT recognize known items on some kind of blacklist would be nice...

Trust me, if this a valid exploit I'd expect to see a security patch prior the release of 10.5.1 even.
 

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