Viruses On Os X

Interesting.. so I am using dial up right now, if I were to use OpenDNS, would I notice a substantial increase or just a moderate increase in speed? I noticed that I only get 46-49kb/s instead of the 56kb/s rate that dial up is advertised. Of course everything computer is jacked up a bit like advertising a 200gb hard drive before formating it, so i could imagine that its no different with internet.
..Not sure if I want all of my info passing through them though.

Little snitch is interesting, it looks like it can block outgoing connections right? Brings back windows XP memories of going into CTRL ALT DELETE control panel and then going into processes and seeing my RAM being taken up by alot of ominous sounding things with .exe at the end of them. Looks like it tells you where the connection is trying to go, not what it does. I would be worried about blocking something vital yet completely user accessible like those ominous .exe files in XP.
 
Oh you still on dial up, that makes a difference. Then Little Snitch and OpenDNS is a little overkill on a dial up.
 
Chevy:

I wanted to get back to that link you posted above but no go... i just opened up a you tube video and a sketchy flash player msg popped up? Asking me to update a plug-in... No thanks! closed out of FF and wanted to check those setting i read about in your post but the i am getting an Apache Error msg from the forum? Did you happen to copy the terminal instructions?
 
Well, I use dial up at home and wireless DSL when I am intown..which is often actually.
I might get the DNS, don't know if I need little snitch though.
 
A word of caution...some virus protection software is worse than a virus itself. I have to reinstall my OS this week because of an install of Intego Virus Barrier X5 that F*****ed up my Macbook and can't be fully removed.
 
runeblade said:
A word of caution...some virus protection software is worse than a virus itself. I have to reinstall my OS this week because of an install of Intego Virus Barrier X5 that F*****ed up my Macbook and can't be fully removed.
Click to expand...
Did you let Intego know? In my experience their customer support is generally pretty good. They will often provide a patch pretty quickly.

However, do you really need virus protection software anyway? Given that there are no viruses for Macs and that VirusBarrier won't stop you passing on most Windows viruses to PCs, what is it for?
 
Given my problems with a very sick iBook, I have given thought to getting a low cost Dell PC laptop (I just can't afford a new iBook at this time).

Now having read this article, I've changed my mind.

The latest edition of the Symantec report covers the second half of 2007 during which time the security firm detected 499,811 new malicious code threats. This figure was up 136% on the first six months of 2007.

Throughout 2007 Symantec detected more than 711,912 novel threats which brings the total number of malicious programs that the security firm's anti-virus programs detect to 1,122,311.

The report notes: "almost two thirds of all malicious code threats currently detected were created during 2007."

The vast majority of these viruses are aimed at PCs running Microsoft Windows and are variants of already existing malicious programs that have proved useful to hi-tech criminals in the past.
 
Rhisiart said:
Given my problems with a very sick iBook, I have given thought to getting a low cost Dell PC laptop (I just can't afford a new iBook at this time).

Now having read this article, I've changed my mind.

The latest edition of the Symantec report covers the second half of 2007 during which time the security firm detected 499,811 new malicious code threats. This figure was up 136% on the first six months of 2007.

Throughout 2007 Symantec detected more than 711,912 novel threats which brings the total number of malicious programs that the security firm's anti-virus programs detect to 1,122,311.

The report notes: "almost two thirds of all malicious code threats currently detected were created during 2007."

The vast majority of these viruses are aimed at PCs running Microsoft Windows and are variants of already existing malicious programs that have proved useful to hi-tech criminals in the past.
Click to expand...

Well, if you were to still purchase that Dell laptop, you could do one of two things. One, you could set up a certain type of system that rhymes with "Macintosh" that we're not allowed to talk about in here :p, or you could install Ubuntu Linux on it. I've got it installed on my new work laptop, a Dell Latitude D630, and it runs incredibly well.

Still, I would much rather have the iBook. Of course, the geek in me would probably dual boot it with Ubuntu/ppc anyways. :D
 
ClamXAV.com (Mac OS X) and Clamwin.com (for windows OS) are both free. I keep antivirus software since I have a mixed-network. While the viruses that ClamXAV has discovered were Windows viruses, it prevented them from infecting any part of my network.

While they won't hurt your computer, a Windows virus could spread (your Mac as a carrier.)
 
I just thought I'd bring a couple of new Trojans to the attention of the MacOSX.com community. http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00001461.html

Backdoor.Mac.Hovdy.a apparently isn't in the wild yet, but the source code for it is circulating, meaning it is only a matter of time. Being a trojan, it still requires user intervention or social engineering to spread.

PokerStealer.A heavily relies on social engineering. It comes with the filename PokerGame.app (180Kb), sounds interesting, right? ... However, once executed, it will prompt the user for a password.
Click to expand...

I'd just like to remind the forums that we aren't immune to social engineering, and a good deal of common sense, along with a suspicion of any app from an unknown source, will save you a lot of trouble.
 
The threat is low. Don't open email attachments from people you don't know, and don't download strange programs from strange websites. If you follow that you are OK.
 
I'm not sure if this is the place to post, but tonight I got home from work, opened my e-mail and when I try to open any mail in my in box, the field stays blank and it appears it's working to open, but at the bottom of the page where the connection script is running, up pops: js.worthathousandwords.com and nothing opens. This was at one yahoo address, yet another is working fine. Would this mean it's definitely a Yahoo issue? Or do I have an OSX bug?

Thanks,
Deb
 
I tried the same mail address at work this morning and there's no issue, no getting stuck with a blank page, so should I assume there's a bug on my iMac @ home?
Does anyone have any recommendations I could follow to fix the problem?

Thanks,
Deb
 
A He Who Must be Obey'd suggested "add to the existing thread" rather than start a new one. I prefer that, but some boards get "touchy" over
undead.gif
thread.

Ran into more than one person with a Mac complaining about slow internet connections. Noticed a few threads asking the same thing. Recommended DNS Changer Removal Tool fixed problems.

The creator of the DNS CRT advertises a program to hunt down more Trojans, vira, and the like. I researched that about a year ago in a fit of paranoia--found this thread--and learned it does not really remove anything save, perhaps, parts of programs that check for updates.

So . . . any update on the nature of security threats for Macs?

--J.D.
 
The DNS Changer trojan is the only threat I've found on any Mac in recent years (!), and it was only on _one_ customer's iMac (and not a MacBook he's using in the same local network). Since the DNSChangerRemovalTool works fine eliminating the threat, I'd say the risks of living the Mac life online are still on quite a comfortable level.
 
Thanks, allow me to ask what may be a stupid question. In my many PC versus Mac I have had a PC user claim that Macs are "just as" potentially insecure. Obviously he does not know what he is writing about--he found a virus for . . . System 6!

Obviously, the guy does not know what he is writing about; however, he cited "evidences" that the Mac has more "security problems." The actual data shows otherwise; nevertheless:

OSXAdvisories.jpg


OSXCriticality.jpg


what are these "vulnerabilities" and "criticalities?"

--J.D.
 
I have always understood that the main reason for Macs' excellent security record is that Apple has too small a share of the global computer market (currently 8.2%) to be attractive enough for hackers to spend the time and effort to target them. Of course Apple's robust system operating system plays a factor too.

I understand that these days hackers are generally more interested in criminal activity that just hacking for fun and corporate PC systems are still the most lucrative market.

Perhaps if Apple reached > 15% of the global market, the situation may change. Then the MACOSX may be tested to the full.
 
The market share part is only an excuse by Windows users. 8% is more than enough market share for exploits to be used. The thing about most of the really scary Windows-security stuff is how multiple exploits can be used together. Of course the scale _does_ play a certain role, but the fact that most issues on the Mac actually need the user to install something fishy kinda makes them "critical" only to - sorry to say this - rather naïve users.
 
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