Anti-Virus programs for 10.4.1?
- Thread starter Sirtovin
- Start date
Despite there being no viruses for OS X, you can still spread viruses (particularly email virus) to Windows users. Most are easily avoidable, but Word virus are harder to detect. I had a problem with a company I do work for that was getting all their emailed quotes rejected from their customers because all of their Word documents got infected.
That being said though, all of the antivirus programs I've tried on the Mac, while trying to fix their problem, sucked. Sophos was the one exception, but is designed exclusively towards businesses. I wouldn't waste your money, let Windows users worry about it, and if your legit emails do get bounced back, it's not hard to figure out where the problem lies.
That being said though, all of the antivirus programs I've tried on the Mac, while trying to fix their problem, sucked. Sophos was the one exception, but is designed exclusively towards businesses. I wouldn't waste your money, let Windows users worry about it, and if your legit emails do get bounced back, it's not hard to figure out where the problem lies.
perfessor101
Registered
That's good because at the present time it is the only antivirus application certified for use with OS X 10.4.x.andersea said:
The Ghost
In the Machine
I recommentd only Intego and only if you want to protect some specific Window users or as many Windows users as you can. I am an OS X and a Windows user. Wearing my Windows cap, my opinion is that I should be responsible for taking care of myself. So, please don't run AV protection for my benefit. Unless something has changed in the last 2 weeks, .Mac is not offering AV protection.Sirtovin said:
I don't understand - maybe I am being REALLY un-intelligent here, but Mac OSX can't get viruses? at all?.. or is just a matter of time till someone realises they have one & oops..?
Isn't it better to be safe than sorry? prevention is better than cure idea?
I really don't understand how Macs can't get viruses.. I'm a newbie to all this, so please don't laugh (lol).
Isn't it better to be safe than sorry? prevention is better than cure idea?
I really don't understand how Macs can't get viruses.. I'm a newbie to all this, so please don't laugh (lol).
Damrod
Registered
Every now and then the rumor of mal-/spy-/whatever-ware for OS X pops up. But so far all of them depended on the fact the user had to download the piece of software and install it.
Viruses for Unix/Linux/OS X are pretty uncommon, as the systems are uncommon. A virus programer wants to hit hard. And that a lot of people. So the obvious choice is to attack the leading operating system. And that is without a doubt (speaking of market share) Windows. I bet if OS X would be the market leader, the picture would be a whole lot different
Viruses for Unix/Linux/OS X are pretty uncommon, as the systems are uncommon. A virus programer wants to hit hard. And that a lot of people. So the obvious choice is to attack the leading operating system. And that is without a doubt (speaking of market share) Windows. I bet if OS X would be the market leader, the picture would be a whole lot different
Cat
Registered
This is called "virofobia", a very widespread form of paranoia. You have an irrational fear of computer viri. Fobic fears are very common, and include fears of heights (vertigo), closed spaces (claustrofobia), spiders (arachnofobia), etc. Please consult a doctor or psychiatrist, he will know what to do.
perfessor101
Registered
No argument, but no antivirus software on the Mac will be able to detect a Mac virus until one has been found and the virus signature have been updated to detect it. In other words no antivirus software will help those who catch the first virus early.Sirtovin said:
However, I go on the theory that I do have some obligation to not knowingly pass on a virus to my many PC using correspondents so I was running Virex 7.5. At the moment I am waiting to see what Apple is going to do for the .Mac subscribers like me.
Jo said:I don't understand - maybe I am being REALLY un-intelligent here, but Mac OSX can't get viruses? at all?.. or is just a matter of time till someone realises they have one & oops..?
Isn't it better to be safe than sorry? prevention is better than cure idea?
I really don't understand how Macs can't get viruses.. I'm a newbie to all this, so please don't laugh (lol).
Probably the easiest way to get a user to run a malicious program is to make it look like something innocent, say something like "song.mp3.app". Most Mac users (just like all my Windows-using customers) have "hide extensions" turned on (I guess because it's less confusing). With hidden extensions, that file would show up as "song.mp3", presumably a music file, not an application. Now, someone that's pay attention should realize that the .mp3 is an extension, which should raise a flag if all your other extensions are hidden. On a Mac it gets trickier though, because the Mac OS doesn't need extensions on files, so it's easier to make an application look like an innocent file, just change the icon and you're done.
Now, even if a Mac user runs that program, unless the program asks you to authenticate with an Admin password, the only files that could potentially be harmed are files that you have permissions to access. If you are asked for a password, know what's asking for it, and don't enter it if you don't think that app should need access to the System folder or root Library folder.
On Windows, things are worse because all you need to do to run a malicious program is go to a website that uses Active-X or a simple VB Script and if you don't have your security settings high enough, a program could run without your knowledge. I visited a couple shady sites that did that using Safari - the sites disguised a malicious VB-Script as a PHP file, Safari just downloaded the file because it didn't know what to do with a VB Script. Looking in the script, it had instructions on installing a bunch of crap in the registry and system folders.
Windows also just as a lot of holes. I had a customer yesterday complaining about their computer restarting every time they dialed-up their internet. Sure enough, any time they connected, their WinXP machine was instantly hit with the Blaster virus and it would restart in 60 seconds. All that was needed to block it was a firewall, but by default WinXP (without SP2) has it off. The virus wouldn't let me turn it on. Installing SP2 fixed the problem and I was able to remove any lingering files (all, of course, in the registry and system folder). I don't know the technical details about how it works, but a firewall is always a good idea - for Windows, Mac, or Unix.
The biggest pain with Windows is that every dumb program can access the registry and system folder. That, combined with the totally un-user-friendly aspect of the registry and the 8 character system file names, it hard to track things down when they do get screwed up. Anyone I try to explain the registry to just gets a blank look on their face. I can easily explain the Library folder and Preference files to Mac users.
Basically, the user still has to know their system, know what their installing and downloading. Even Norton Antivirus doesn't detect a QBasic program that says to delete the whole C: drive.
(That was fun to do in school.)