OSX Sercurity
- Thread starter LukeT
- Start date
It isn't needed. There are no viruses or spyware for Mac OS X.
Just enable the firewall by choosing System Preferences, Sharing, Firewall and then Start. Choose Advanced and then Enable Stealth Mode.
Check out the Mac 101 and Switch 101 links on the Apple support secion of their website for help getting used to OS X etc.
Just enable the firewall by choosing System Preferences, Sharing, Firewall and then Start. Choose Advanced and then Enable Stealth Mode.
Check out the Mac 101 and Switch 101 links on the Apple support secion of their website for help getting used to OS X etc.
Soldato
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AJUK said:
You'll probably get some people's backs up with that comment.
In practice you are right though.
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I second this. The only viruses I've ever seen on OS X are VB macro viruses in Microsoft Office.E1mo said:
OS X's security is not perfect by any means. I've seen it reckoned with calling the second fattest girl at the pub "skinny".
However, in that sense, it is far skinnier than the other option.
BillytheImpaler said:
Well you are wrong then,
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/osxleapa.html
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/osxinqtanab.html
To name but a few.
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Excuse me, I don't believe you are in a position to tell me what I have or have not observed in the field doing desktop support.Una said:
Just because I've never seen what you've mentioned does not necessarily mean I claim they do not exist.BillytheImpaler said:
My experience would suggest to me that it is typical for an OS X user not see viruses as a significant problem.
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Exactly as I said, she's the second fattest girl at the bar but I'd much rather take her home instead of the fattest girl at the end of the night.Una said:
Soldato
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Una said:Sorry quoted wrong post - wasn't directed at you haha.
Meant to quote,
Pretty funny when people mac fanatics bury their head in the sand. On no mac OS is perfect there are no virus's!111.
Guess you skipped over the third post then.
In reality there are currently no virus threats.
I don't bother with a virus scanner on my Mac's. I see no point at the moment. Yes there are possible threats out there, but i really don't see it as anything to worry about now Running this software always slows things down, and when there's no real need for it, what's the point?
Running this software always slows things down, and when there's no real need for it, what's the point?There are no known viruses/worms/trojans out there for OSX because no-one has been bothered to invest a lot of time and effort into writing one for a platform which has a tiny market share. The mentality of the people who write viruses is to infect as many people as possible - they're not going to achieve that by coding for a platform which does not have significant market share.
If you use cross-platform applications which can carry viruses through their file formats, like MS Office, detecting and cleaning such viruses that you come across is part of being a good responsible internet user. Saying it's someone else's problem because you're not affected is the kind of thing that makes the internet suck.
If you use cross-platform applications which can carry viruses through their file formats, like MS Office, detecting and cleaning such viruses that you come across is part of being a good responsible internet user. Saying it's someone else's problem because you're not affected is the kind of thing that makes the internet suck.
Matt said:I don't bother with a virus scanner on my Mac's. I see no point at the moment. Yes there are possible threats out there, but i really don't see it as anything to worry about now
Nothing, I don't run a virus scanner on my mac either. Just it's annoying when people deny that mac virus's don't exist. Mac users fanaticism will be their downfall in future on this front.
There are a few threads about this already
Virus protection and macs ... should I bother?
101 reasons why OS X is better than Windows
Mac Virus
Virii are out there, but it is down to the user I guess
It obviously is no-where near as bad as windows tho.
Virus protection and macs ... should I bother?
101 reasons why OS X is better than Windows
Mac Virus
Virii are out there, but it is down to the user I guess
It obviously is no-where near as bad as windows tho.
I disagree. The mentality of people who write viruses is "What will get my virus the most attention?" And right now, with the rise of the Mac platform since the Intel switch, iPods, and Mac's reputation of being Virus free, a self-replicating Virus for the Mac platform would be an absolutely HUGE deal.
I just read the whole of the thread and laughed at the bickering
I think a moderator should maybe put their mark on this subject.
There are osx virus's which is why people are annoyed that some mac users deny that fact.
Whether you've seen or experienced them is another matter. The facts are that there are a lot of proof of concept virus's and some very real ones.
I know some people don't see them as a massive threat and in comparison to windows they aren't but perhaps people should stick to the facts instead of bickering
I don't have antivirus on osx, altho looking at some of the more recent proof of concept virii and the places certain security risks have been seen I am thinking of maybe installing antivirus.
I think a moderator should maybe put their mark on this subject.
There are osx virus's which is why people are annoyed that some mac users deny that fact.
Whether you've seen or experienced them is another matter. The facts are that there are a lot of proof of concept virus's and some very real ones.
I know some people don't see them as a massive threat and in comparison to windows they aren't but perhaps people should stick to the facts instead of bickering
I don't have antivirus on osx, altho looking at some of the more recent proof of concept virii and the places certain security risks have been seen I am thinking of maybe installing antivirus.
E1mo said:
Yeah well part of it is attention, the other is it takes quite a lot of skill to write a non trivial one. If you have ever seen the code for a polymorphic engine written in asm it is quite impressive. I still believe the main reason is because windows is an easy target and there is a much larger market share than mac. If mac's market share increases a lot people will be more inclined to target that platform. Right now there is pretty small mac security research scene compared to windows/*nix as well. Apple are not really hated like M$ are either.
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