Macs Attacked!

[KG4CGC]

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=Mac+attacked+by+malware&cp=11&qe=TWFjIGF0dGFja2U&qesig=1ZQnUISftvZmgIRQ5y3Rsg&pkc=AFgZ2tmI_On-RiQIcLvgT5uyUBEtAPzQpAPFXCy4qfQzyAxcIvftGZIALb-YdL6nJEgT64tzbPuuG0NoSbDaH4glUxMb50-80g&pf=p&sclient=psy&source=hp&aq=0&aqi=&aql=&oq=Mac+attacke&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=951dc7972bfd90fb&biw=1680&bih=840

The virus tells you your computer has been infected and it looks like a legit Apple warning.
Apple's popularity has made them a new target. Apparently the current attack has been going on for 2 months but no Mac owner is willing to admit it. Eh?

[NQ6U]

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=Mac+attacked+by+malware&cp=11&qe=TWFjIGF0dGFja2U&qesig=1ZQnUISftvZmgIRQ5y3Rsg&pkc=AFgZ2tmI_On-RiQIcLvgT5uyUBEtAPzQpAPFXCy4qfQzyAxcIvftGZIALb-YdL6nJEgT64tzbPuuG0NoSbDaH4glUxMb50-80g&pf=p&sclient=psy&source=hp&aq=0&aqi=&aql=&oq=Mac+attacke&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=951dc7972bfd90fb&biw=1680&bih=840

The virus tells you your computer has been infected and it looks like a legit Apple warning.
Apple's popularity has made them a new target. Apparently the current attack has been going on for 2 months but no Mac owner is willing to admit it. Eh?

Jeeze, where have you been? It was all over the Mac-centric Web sites—a month ago. Since then, Apple released an OS update that prevents it from running so it's no longer as big an issue as it once was. And, BTW, it's not a virus, it's a Trojan Horse. You have to be dumb enough to actually enter your admin password before it can install and it takes about a minute to delete it later. Unlike Windows, on a Mac there's no registry for it to hide in and reinstall itself later.

[KG4CGC]

I don't wander around in Macland. It's new to me.

[WB0LSR]

Well, no matter how much the Mac folks want to draw attention away from it, it does mean that the whole "Macs are the holy and blessed creation of Jesus Christ himself, built in heaven by angels, and are therefore completely immune to all viruses and malware for all eternity" thing just doesn't hold water LOL.. Who'd a thunk it?

MacOS is UNIX is Linux. It's not magical or mystical or made by Leprechauns somewhere over the rainbow next a pot-o-gold, nor do Macs vaporize out of thin air from the 6th dimension. They're just computers. In Mac's case they're vastly simplified computers in shiny packages, but they're still just computers with all of the associated caveats and benefits. If Apple ever establishes a more commanding percentage of computers in use in the world, there will be much more fun malware to have the simple people tearing their hair out in frustration.. and it will be FAR worse for most of them after the kool-aid they've been drinking wears off and they realize that purported "immunity" was all just a well-dressed crock of shit.

[NQ6U]

No one who knows anything about computers has ever claimed that Macs are "immune" to viruses or other malware. They are, however, much less vulnerable to them than Windows and even if Apple gains a much larger market share than they currently have, malware will not be as big a problem for Mac users as it is for Windows users.

[WB0LSR]

Oh but they have.. I can't tell you how many "all-knowing" mac users I've run into that will tell you with complete seriousness that their machines are thoroughly "immune" (the exact word used) to malware. They have told me many times that they know this is a fact because the "Geniuses" said so.

Also, I'm not sure I agree with the belief that malware can never be as serious of a problem for Macs as it is for Windows. The facts regarding operating systems and how they work don't support that idea. Simply because there is no registry as such doesn't mean there aren't a whole host of other ways to compromise the machine. If the market shares were reversed, you'd see what I mean. A good enough hacker/programmer can compromise any machine to do their bidding, and will do so if the stakes are high enough. That may as well be a universal law..

My issue with Macs actually has nothing to do with the computers, and everything to do with the kool-aid/snake oil concoction that Jobs and associates use to sell their products. I think that dishonesty is what it is, no matter how it is disguised or gussied up.

[KG4CGC]

Didn't mean to start a war although now I can see how touchy a subject it is.
I'm a PC, and I don't wear a brown suit.

[NA4BH]

That's just the way the Germans did it when they bombed Pearl Harbor.

[NQ6U]

Oh but they have.. I can't tell you how many "all-knowing" mac users I've run into that will tell you with complete seriousness that their machines are thoroughly "immune" (the exact word used) to malware.

I said "anyone who knows anything about computers."

OS X is by design less vulnerable to malware than Windows. It is not immune by any means and it's probable that some day someone will come up with an attack vector that will work (other than social engineering, which is how all Mac malware to date have functioned). However, the problem will not ever reach the level that has with Windows.

I agree with with you about how annoying Mac fanboys can be, though.

[WB0LSR]

OSX and Linux and Unix all share the same flowchart, more or less. UNIX and Linux have been compromised in the past as well.. The structure does provide more security, yes, but I have faith that the malware producers of tomorrow will have Mac infrastructure well in hand.

It is a touchy subject for many. I also hold fiery opinions on it, obviously.. however at the end of the day it's all about how the end user feels about their experience. If Macs get the job done for a user in a way that is less stressful, that's all that matters.

[n2ize]

As far as security goes, Unix, Linux, Mac OS, Windows are atrocious. Linux and MAC OS, etc. can probably be one of the worst operating systems on the face of the earth... But I use it. Windblows is attacked more due to its popularity. If I had half a brain I would use no computer. But, like everyone else, I am an idiot so I do.

[WØTKX]

Macs are NOT immune, never have been. I can't recall a virus for the Lisa tho. ;)

There were a number of floppy viruses in the Mac Classic Daze.

[NQ6U]

Macs are NOT immune, never have been. I can't recall a virus for the Lisa tho. ;)

There were a number of floppy viruses in the Mac Classic Daze.

Well, since there were probably only about six Lisa computers ever sold, it probably wouldn't have been worth the trouble to write a virus for them.

The Mac Classic did have some viruses, maybe a dozen or so. Of course, they won't work on OS X.

[n6hcm]

Oh but they have.. I can't tell you how many "all-knowing" mac users I've run into that will tell you with complete seriousness that their machines are thoroughly "immune" (the exact word used) to malware. They have told me many times that they know this is a fact because the "Geniuses" said so.

i think that, perhaps, you have a too-low threshold for "genius."

[WB0LSR]

It's not my threshold, I was referring to Apple Geniuses. The guys that work at the Apple store. That's what they're called.. but you're right. I, too, think Apple has too low an opinion of "Genius".

[n2ize]

It's not my threshold, I was referring to Apple Geniuses. The guys that work at the Apple store. That's what they're called.. but you're right. I, too, think Apple has too low an opinion of "Genius".

Regardless, it works. The marketing of the apple store and the "Genius Bar" has netted Apple a ton of money. Maybe they ain't geniuses but they sure bring the bucks home.

[KB3LAZ]

Ill stick with my pc :)

[N2NH]

The problem with Geniuses is that the current IQ is so low that everybody who can walk and chew gum looks like a genius. This opens the door for posers and they in turn dilute the term further. This makes it harder for true geniuses as people then believe that there AREN'T any geniuses. I can assure you that there are. That's why wife #1 is wife #1 and not the present model.