Apple fights hundreds of thousands of virus-controlled Macs

"Hey but at least it does not blue screen amirite?"- Machole fan boy

I am not a huge linux fan but hear me out.
Linux users suffer from the same delusions of security that Macholes do. Linux can get malware just like any other OS.The biggest difference is the average linux user knows how to use a computer. The user is really what determines the chances of getting malware. But Apple users would very pleased if they switched over to linux.
1. You can maintain the look- Your computer would still have the apple logo on the case, so when you are at starbucks you don't look like one of those peasants with a 700 dollar laptop.

2. Price- If you bought an apple chances are you spent over 1,000 dollars because you honestly believe that somehow "apple" is better than doing something that with windows. Or that a PC with the identical (and upgradable) hardware is still inferior. You are wrong. Everything that can be done on apple can be done on PC and Linux (on linux for free by the way).

3.Usability- I can't think of a single thing apple does that linux cannot. If all apple users were to switch to linux they would have faster computers and they still would not be able to play real games.

4.Performance and Security- Linux will outperform any Apple computer hands down, in hacking competitions Apple is always the first computer hacked same goes with browsers, Safari is the least secure.

reply to post by Swills


PC's are easier to attack simply because of the way the OS is built. Core windows files can be reached by simple programs often without your permission, not so true with a Mac. Then there is a long list of other reasons PC's are attacked.. such as the average computer tech skills of a pc user compared to a mac user make pc users themselves, as people, easier to attack. And the vast majority of businesses use windows. As well as the vast majority of old folks who rarely even know their computers been sabotaged.

Macs ARE safer than PC's .. but they are not immune to attacks.

Originally posted by Rockpuck
reply to post by Swills

 

PC's are easier to attack simply because of the way the OS is built. Core windows files can be reached by simple programs often without your permission, not so true with a Mac.

Did you make that up or did someone tell you that? Please at least try to back up that claim with something. Apple is SIGNIFICANTLY less secure than windows. The only reason windows get hacked more is because windows is ove 90% of the market. The only thing that really protects apple is the lack of users. Apple is typically the FIRST thing hacked in hacking contests.
www.computerworld.com...
www.conceivablytech.com...
www.dailytech.com...

Then there is a long list of other reasons PC's are attacked.. such as the average computer tech skills of a pc user compared to a mac user make pc users themselves, as people, easier to attack.

Wrong again, how many Mac users do you know who have built their system component by component? What is the demographic of apple users? Compared to linux and Windows, apple is "Fisher price my first Computer".

And the vast majority of businesses use windows.

Because it is more secure and offers more scalability. A dedicated apple server is often a regular desktop or mini with a server app. Apple is just not set up for a business environment.

Macs ARE safer than PC's .. but they are not immune to attacks.

reply to post by xuenchen


It was only question of time. All Apple OSes are UNIX like, same as Linux. In my eyes UNIX architecture is better then MS approach - specifically but not only because MS registry nonsense.
MS and Apple try to do very complex things simple and user friendly. There is big trade off with this approach - users are not forced to gain basic understanding of their OS. Linux will slowly slip same way with popular distros like Ubuntu.
There are 3 primary reasons why are Windows machines so infested by various forms of malware:
1. market share at workstation segment
2. flows in basic design
3. not educated users

While Apple OSes are based on (in my view) more secure UNIX approach and market share is relatively low, Apple users are even less educated about IT. It is because user of Windows box is permanently confronted with various security threats and malfunctions (I was working on Windows from 3.11FW till XP + I did administration of NT4 and Win2000 servers). For example 99.9% of Apple users do not know that there is something like root account in their OS!
This false sense of security on both sides - user and manufacturer - leads to security problems.

I'll recommend every one, who do not need professional graphics/video/sound editing, to switch to Linux. It is free, even in Ubuntu form more secure then Apple/MS offer and it can do everything what you need. It is also open in many respects: there is working documentation, there is possibility to study and rework source code.

reply to post by Rockpuck


Actually Mac is only about 5% of the computer market.
So who would invest in developing a virus for 5%.

Originally posted by Cyanhide
reply to post by Rockpuck

 

Actually Mac is only about 5% of the computer market.
So who would invest in developing a virus for 5%.

5% sounds small when you dont provide how many computers there are in the world



its millions & mac users have money, they bought an overpriced shiny thing.

LOL @ all the bitter mac haters. I love my macbook pro and would have paid even more. If you have never used a mac before you should shut it. PCs and macs aren't even comparable user interface, reliability and security wise. Macs are classy as hell, deal with it.

This is overblown.

But even if it were not exaggerated - in my opinion - the common PC is still shot full of holes and vulnerabilities it's a joke.

So there is one seemingly genuine threat to Mac, and that threat seems to be benign at the moment too, while Mac are repairing the issue with extremely fast response.
That compares to the many hundreds of thousands of threats to a Windows PC, and the occasional patch delivered a month later by Microsoft, which then probably won't install because the virus has messed up your system and you have no tech support able to tell you how to fix that to install the updates...

By the time I knew there was a threat I'd already had the patch.

You PC fans keep struggling with your trojans and malware and expensive virus scanners, ineffective firewalls and dodgy programs, while you're beating them all off with a stick us Mac users have experienced a momentary blip and nothing more.

Originally posted by tempesillest
but.... Apple IS a virus.

I couldn't stop laughing after I saw your post! That was good!

The only thing I have against Apple (Macs) is that users always claim they can't get a virus at all, and someone already mentioned it in here that it was due to the small percentage of overall users vs PC's.

Welcome to the world of viruses Apple!

this might have been mentioned but do you think competing computer companies ever attempt to sabotage competition in ways such as this?" everyone hails mac's for their virus protection,,, not if i have something to say about it" kinda thing

reply to post by Swills


The one thing that was special that made viruses inert against Macs was when they were still using the PowerPC architecture from IBM. Intel and AMD are x86, but now that they've switched over they lost that advantage.

Originally posted by strato
LOL @ all the bitter mac haters. I love my macbook pro and would have paid even more. If you have never used a mac before you should shut it. PCs and macs aren't even comparable user interface, reliability and security wise. Macs are classy as hell, deal with it.

edit on 6-4-2012 by strato because: (no reason given)

"and would have paid even more"
LOL!!!

" reliability and security wise. Macs are classy as hell"
macs dont get infections because they are... classy?
you sound like the typical arrogant mac user, fully indoctrinated into the "macs are immune to everything" group. but hey, if youre willing to throw money at something and overpay for a false sense of security hey thats your call. my windows system runs just fine, boots in just about 10 secs and hasnt given me probs in YEARS. plus i can actually do things other than itunes on my pc.

Originally posted by strato
LOL @ all the bitter mac haters. I love my macbook pro and would have paid even more. If you have never used a mac before you should shut it. PCs and macs aren't even comparable user interface, reliability and security wise. Macs are classy as hell, deal with it.

edit on 6-4-2012 by strato because: (no reason given)

I have used both and you're so full of apple fanboi pie it's not even funny.

There are more advantages to having a PC for the average user. Not everyone uses photoshop or video editing as their #1 source of entertainment, they enjoy playing games

Also, I hardly ever get viruses. Know why? I don't have any P2P software downloading illegal software/music all day. The most recent virus I've gotten that I can remember was when the recent wow expansion came out, I went to a fan site and had a .pdf popup which gave me a virus. You can blame Adobe for that.

Face it, the only reason you have this attitude is because you forked over a few grand for a $600 PC with a fancy apple on it. At least with PCs people get experience with how to deal with malware, I can picture you having a panic attack once your precious mac is as dirty as the average PC.

Stay "classy" my friend. I think I will start calling ignorant people classy.

Originally posted by strato
LOL @ all the bitter mac haters. I love my macbook pro and would have paid even more. If you have never used a mac before you should shut it. PCs and macs aren't even comparable user interface, reliability and security wise. Macs are classy as hell, deal with it.

edit on 6-4-2012 by strato because: (no reason given)

I used Mac many years ago. I switched to Windows because it was 3 times faster then MacOS at the time - even with zero stability of that time Windows it was good move
If you love limitations of proprietary software and false sense of security, then it is better choice then MS. If you do not want to look "under hood", it is your choice. Probably you did not realized yet that there is text interface to your OS, which is 10x more capable then GUI cream - again this "feature" (it is not feature, it is basic interface) is better under Apple's creatures then MS.
If you love freedom, quality of documentation and possibility to look how stuff works ... then Linux.
Everything depends on what you are expecting of your box. If you are 3d designer, Win will be your choice. If 2d design or sound editing is your daily bread and your budget is not tight, Mac is maybe bit better then Win. If you just want to browse web, chat with friends and do office tasks, you will save lot of money if you stick with Ubuntu Linux distro. If you are network admin ... you will end on some "not so user friendly" Linux distro sooner or later.

I forgot the hardware issue: If you are gamer, you change your hardware every 2 years. Lifespan of gaming hardware is designed so. If you want something for longer time, you need to buy some "server" hardware. Price is 30 - 70 % higher, but it will work at least 5 - 6 years. I do not have many experiences with lifespan of Apple workstations. It will be probably better then say Acer, around level of Dell and not so good as say Tyan.

To the above posters:

If you want to play games get a console. Laptops are not for gaming.

I was a PC user for years and believe me I know how to deal with malware and viruses. It's not like there aren't firewalls and anti-viruses available for macs - there are. Nothing wrong with having extra layers of security. I never said macs aren't vulnerable. Comparing this one isolated case to thousands of mass PC infections is silly. Nothing is ever 100% perfect. Macs are as close as it gets.

If you really wanna hate, the price was more than a grand. It was a little over $3k. I'm not arguing that this kind of gear is not necessary for the average user. Of course it's not. But for someone who makes a living on his computer it's well worth the investment.

Originally posted by Thisbseth
how do you tell if your mac is infected...

You wait til apple tells you

Originally posted by dl2oneThe2nd

Originally posted by Thisbseth
how do you tell if your mac is infected...

You wait til apple tells you

First, open Terminal from your Utilities folder. If you've never ever done that before, don't be scared! It's a nice way to turn your Mac into a computer you actually have some control over.

Then, once you're in, follow these easy steps to detection:

1. Run the following command in Terminal:

defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment

2. Take note of the value, DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES
3. Proceed to step 8 if you got the following error message:

"The domain/default pair of (/Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info, LSEnvironment) does not exist"

If you don't get that error message, well, time to head to F-Secure for your fix. If you're clean so far, you can move on to step eight:

8. Run the following command in Terminal:

defaults read ~/.MacOSX/environment DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES

9. Take note of the result. Your system is already clean of this variant if you got an error message similar to the following:

"The domain/default pair of (/Users/joe/.MacOSX/environment, DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES) does not exist"

In other words: "does not exist" means you've got a healthy rig. Anything else, just keep following F-Secure's instructions to vanquish the intruder. And even if you get the all clear for now, don't wait on downloading the security update that patches the Java vulnerability that started this whole mess. [F-Secure via Ars]

gizmodo.com... 142218-3&utm_medium=email

Originally posted by strato
To the above posters:

If you want to play games get a console. Laptops are not for gaming.

I was a PC user for years and believe me I know how to deal with malware and viruses. It's not like there aren't firewalls and anti-viruses available for macs - there are. Nothing wrong with having extra layers of security. I never said macs aren't vulnerable. Comparing this one isolated case to thousands of mass PC infections is silly. Nothing is ever 100% perfect. Macs are as close as it gets.

If you really wanna hate, the price was more than a grand. It was a little over $3k. I'm not arguing that this kind of gear is not necessary for the average user. Of course it's not. But for someone who makes a living on his computer it's well worth the investment.

edit on 6-4-2012 by strato because: (no reason given)

1. consoles have limitations built in, have you even looked at the specs of the xbox 360? plus you cant upgrade them. you can very easily get a laptop that trumps a console in just about every way, plus you dont have to pay a subscription (or get your data stolen - in ps3's case). but i wouldnt advocate gaming on a laptop anyway unless you have cash to throw away and go to lans. lots easier to bring a laptop than lugging a case around.


2. for 3k im sure you know you couldve built an outstanding system that prolly would perform better than your mac

3. mac "perfection" is all relative. and bringing up the number of pc infections is moot as im sure you know the VAST majority of computer users are on pcs.

I just felt the need to point out to both camps of idiots, PCTards and Fanbois, that contary to popular perception, and to those comparing PC's to Mac's, that the Mac IS a PC.

The term PC simply stands for Personal Computer.

Both Windows based computers and Mac use similar hardware architecture these days too.

May I also point out that OSX (the operating system that comes as default on Mac's) is derived originally from NetBSD, a Posix compliant "Unix".

Why is this important? Because it shows that "Unix" based OS's are not virus free, any more than Windows based OSs. That includes Linux (this post is being written on a Linux OS powered PC).

Any computer, running any currently available OS can be infected with malware, which is why safe computing is a must. Your OS won't protect you, only your brain will.

In fact I do not like Apple and Microsoft simply because those companies are pure corporate bastards. Any time I can avoid supporting such creatures I do so. It was main incentive, why I started to use Linux. After few months of frustration I realized that Linux is best for my work. After one year of usage of Linux I got more knowledge about IT then after using MacOS for 2 years and Win for 12 years.
Everything depends on what you want. I want to understand what is going on in my box. That is why I use Linux.