Anti-Spyware for OSX?

D

DarkSorrow

Registered
um... is there a Anti-Spyware for OSX?

I am the admin but using a limited account just to be safe.


I just used the google search and a very few anti-spyware result show up but i dont trust them, one of them is Norton.... *shivers* no thanks for Norton.

Anyone know a free one? if there is a good shareware, then im willing to pay for it.
 
Have a look at MacScan. Personally, I'm much happier with a program like LittleSnitch that alerts me to any attempt by applications to "phone home". After all, spyware has got to communicate with home base right?
 
yet. and many programs phone home. it's not like virus's. Snapz Pro phones home when you register it, apparently. technically, that's spyware.
 
As technically is the ITunes ministore function. Not all spyware is malicious, but it is spyware never the less.
 
From the MacOS X Dictionary
spyware |?sp??we(?)r| noun software that self-installs on computers and tracks the user's Internet use, mainly for marketing purposes.
Click to expand...
Neither Snapz Pro nor iTunes self-installs. Neither app calls home to report your Internet usage. You may find a more detailed definition on Dictionary.com. The bottomline is that phoning home in and of itself does not qualify an application or utility as spyware. If it phones home with the user's consent, its candidacy for spyware is disqualified. There is no spyware on the Mac.
 
I agree MrMe, it doesn't count as "actuall" spyware (in the Wintel sense), but you're arguing a point purely on semantics.

A number of applications make a covert connection, the deliberate nature of which could be considered as spying.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong... in order for something to Spy on you, it should send out information regarding something that you didn't want it to send... like your internet usage or keystrokes.
If I registered a program, and it sends out the registration information - I don't think it qualifies as spyware.
 
sndwav said:
Correct me if I'm wrong... If I registered a program, and it sends out the registration information - I don't think it qualifies as spyware.
Click to expand...

There is no correction to be made, I don't disagree. As I said...

it doesn't count as "actual" spyware
Click to expand...

However, semantics aside, some people would consider any covertly transfered information as spying. Hence the need for applications such as Little Snitch.

The salient point here is the covert nature of the communication. Silent observation of any kind can be legitimately seen as spying (but not necessarily be described as spyware).
 
wicky said:
....

However, semantics aside, some people would consider any covertly transfered information as spying. Hence the need for applications such as Little Snitch.

....
Click to expand...
Words have definitions. Registration utilities and automatic update checkers do not fit the definition of spyware--neither in semantics nor in spirit. Real spyware is a real threat. By devoting resources to combatting imaginary threats, you reduce your defenses against real threats.
 
Yes, spyware has a specific meaning, which is why I agreed with your definition (several times now).

However, I was simply addressing a valid point raised earlier in the thread which is that some people are uncomfortable with the concept of their machines making any connections which are not immediately transparent.

Climb down from your soapbox mate... you're preaching to the converted.
 
Did anyone mention that there is, to date, no "Spyware" for the Mac?
So, by definition, there is no "antispyware" for the Mac. That answers the original question.

And you can be certain that, should any Spy loophole become evident, Apple will be quick to issue a security update. Unlike Microsoft, Apple is not bogged down with thousands of malware problems already, so its reaction time is likely to be much better.

Should you wish to keep track of outgoing traffic, however, then software such as Little Snitch will cheerfully interrupt your work pattern and add to your paranoid worries. :)
 
"by definition"? That's wrong, sadly. Norton et al. will gladly sell you "internet security" suites for the Mac without there being a need for it. Not because they truly fear that you're at risk, but to live off of Windows' halo effect. Most computer users nowadays "know" that you "can't" run a computer securely without having given some software dealer at least 20 bucks for security software. ;)

They'll go even further and cry "wolf!" whenever there's an (already fixed?) security gap in Apple's software with a proof-of-concept (i.e. not in the wild) virus/worm/whatever. Then, for three or four days, you'll see lots of happy PC journalists crying "Panic! Macs are unsafe, too!!!" until finally it becomes clear that there's no real danger because

a) there was no virus or worm or spyware in the wild in the first place
b) it couldn't have spread like Melissa did through Outlook etc.
c) the bug was quickly fixed by Apple.

About this "is it or is it not spyware" thing: It would only be honest of software makers to _tell_ you that the app is going to send personal information "home". Apple, for example, very clearly states that the registration information for Mac OS X will be sent to Apple, whereas many a little app simply starts "going wild" with outgoing connections that might make me feel quite uncomfortable. So if I download, say, a Tic Tac Toe clone and it tries to connect to the 'net without giving the user any internet functionality, I find this rather disturbing. It's not as if those connections would be "see-through", you know. So I like Little Snitch very much. This way, I can tell apps: "No, you *don't* need to connect to the internet." Satisfying. ;)
 
Umm there is a firewall thing in Leopard that looks a lot like Snitch:
picture-11.jpg


Anyone think it would conflict with Snitch?
 
MisterMe said:
Words have definitions. Registration utilities and automatic update checkers do not fit the definition of spyware--neither in semantics nor in spirit. Real spyware is a real threat. By devoting resources to combatting imaginary threats, you reduce your defenses against real threats.
Click to expand...

my point is not whether or not there are threatening spyware threats out there, just that it's not impossible. if programs can legitimately phone home without my asking, whats to stop an illiegitimate app phoning home?

also, you can set up little snitch to remember which programs you trust (ie all the programs you use) so that really should only show it's face if something new is doing something you might not want
 
Sunnz said:
Umm there is a firewall thing in Leopard that looks a lot like Snitch:

Anyone think it would conflict with Snitch?
Click to expand...

The OS X firewall only controls _incoming_ traffic. Little Snitch sniffs outgoing traffic from your Mac, so the OS X firewall complements Little Snitch (and visa versa).

If you have a router, you don't really need a software firewall like OS X's ipfw firewall. A router denies any uninitiated requests to your machine, making it a firewall. But a router doesn't take the place of an app like Little Snitch.

Doug
 
A couple technicalities:

1. There is commercial keystroke logging software for OS X. There's one app that I know of. Though it doesn't install itself, keystroke loggers tend to be thought of as spyware.

2. There are unconfirmed claims of a handful of other spyware apps out there for OS X. I don't believe any can jump across the Interweb and infect your machine, though. Nor can any virus or worm for OS X.

3. There is an _announced_ anti-spyware app for OS X. I don't remember the name. Google it. Now, I find it hard to believe they could sell very many. And the whole idea is ludicrous. But you know how people are.

I haven't used antivirus or antispyware on my Mac in six years and amazingly my machines have never been infected. Must be because of my MAD SKILLZZZ!!!!!!!!! ;

Doug the HAx0R

P.S. The mad skillz thing above is a joke, see? So is the "Doug the HAxOR" thing. It's supposed to poke fun at the computing community's insistence that one needs malware protection software on ANY machine, including Macs. I just explained my joke. How detailed is that?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top