 The Mac's Invincibility To Viruses |
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  Mar 24 2008, 10:36 AM
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#1
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 Member  Group: Members Posts: 42 Joined: 6-May 07 From: Exeter, England, Europe Member No.: 129,161  |
I mean, what is all that nonsense? Computers can't be impervious to viruses - can they? -------------------- The|Technical|Man
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Mar 24 2008, 12:54 PM
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#2
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Member Group: Members Posts: 90 Joined: 18-November 07 Member No.: 170,627 |
The only reason macs don't get as many viruses as windows is because they are not as common. A virus could be written just as easilly for a mac as it can for a pc. The same is true about Linux distributions.
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Mar 24 2008, 02:28 PM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 42 Joined: 6-May 07 From: Exeter, England, Europe Member No.: 129,161 |
yeh, but where did anyone get the idea about the mac's imperviousness to viruses in the first place when it isn't?
-------------------- The|Technical|Man
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Mar 24 2008, 05:31 PM
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#4
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 Member Group: Members Posts: 98 Joined: 17-September 07 From: Wisconsin Member No.: 157,470 |
There is this
 Apple is the most likely culprit for starting that rumor. What better way to sell an OS than to say its virus free? After doing a little digging, I found out that before OS X, there were viruses for Mac. And while there are currently no wild viruses, there have been several "proof of concept" viruses created over the past few years. --------------------  |
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Mar 26 2008, 06:11 PM
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#5
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 Bleepin' Night Watchman Group: BC Advisor Posts: 1,762 Joined: 5-December 05 From: The City of Saint Francis, by the western sea Member No.: 43,307 |
Unix/Linux viruses are much more difficult to write since those operating systems where designed from the ground up with a multi-user paradigm in place: users cannot affect other user's data nor affect system files. The only way to cause any real damage is to be running (either the user or a virus) with root privileges.
Windows, on the other hand, was designed with a single-user paradigm in mind. Later versions of Windows attempted to address this security deficiency, but business sense demanded that they also not break backwards compatibility with programs written for the earlier versions of Windows. This commitment to backwards compatibility has served Microsoft very well in business terms, but at the expense of true security in their operating system. (As an example of this backwards-compatibility, MS Bob, a program written for Windows 3.11 and Windows 95, still works perfectly in Windows XP.) This, coupled with the desire to make Windows as easy to operate as possible even for novice computer users, has made Windows a very insecure Operating System. Microsoft has made great strides in this area with Windows Vista, but their implementation leaves much to be desired. (Compare the Vista User Account Controls to, for example, the gksudo function in Ubuntu or the kdesu function in Kubuntu. All have a similar function and appearance, but few would argue that Vista's UAC is better.) Mac OS X is built right on top of the BSD Unix Mach kernel and is a certified Unix Compliant OS. For that reason and because of its limited market share Mac OS X (and its Linux/BSD brethren) is, by design and circumstance, more secure than Windows. --------------------  |
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Apr 10 2008, 07:10 AM
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#6
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Member Group: Members Posts: 84 Joined: 5-March 07 From: Brighton, UK Member No.: 115,537 |
QUOTE(Amazing Andrew @ Mar 27 2008, 12:11 AM)  Unix/Linux viruses are much more difficult to write since those operating systems where designed from the ground up with a multi-user paradigm in place: users cannot affect other user's data nor affect system files. The only way to cause any real damage is to be running (either the user or a virus) with root privileges. Windows, on the other hand, was designed with a single-user paradigm in mind. Later versions of Windows attempted to address this security deficiency, but business sense demanded that they also not break backwards compatibility with programs written for the earlier versions of Windows. This commitment to backwards compatibility has served Microsoft very well in business terms, but at the expense of true security in their operating system. (As an example of this backwards-compatibility, MS Bob, a program written for Windows 3.11 and Windows 95, still works perfectly in Windows XP.) This, coupled with the desire to make Windows as easy to operate as possible even for novice computer users, has made Windows a very insecure Operating System. Microsoft has made great strides in this area with Windows Vista, but their implementation leaves much to be desired. (Compare the Vista User Account Controls to, for example, the gksudo function in Ubuntu or the kdesu function in Kubuntu. All have a similar function and appearance, but few would argue that Vista's UAC is better.) Mac OS X is built right on top of the BSD Unix Mach kernel and is a certified Unix Compliant OS. For that reason and because of its limited market share Mac OS X (and its Linux/BSD brethren) is, by design and circumstance, more secure than Windows. That's the best explanation I've ever heard. *Applaud* |
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Apr 10 2008, 01:25 PM
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#7
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 Member Group: Members Posts: 24 Joined: 7-February 08 Member No.: 188,866 |
Apple's OS market-share is rapidly increasing among HD movie-watchers and gamers due to its lack of DRM "features" which encrust Vista.
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Apr 13 2008, 11:08 AM
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#8
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Member Group: Members Posts: 22 Joined: 12-April 08 Member No.: 202,567 |
QUOTE(mike18xx @ Apr 10 2008, 11:25 AM) Apple's OS market-share is rapidly increasing among HD movie-watchers and gamers due to its lack of DRM "features" which encrust Vista. Well, we might be seeing more viruses for the mac in the near future. |
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Apr 22 2008, 01:19 AM
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#9
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New Member Group: Members Posts: 1 Joined: 21-April 08 Member No.: 204,548 |
i have been using both apple and windows based systems for 20 years. I have always preferred Mac, but i DID start on one.
As for viruses.... i NEVER had one before... now i have the intel based mac and have some sort of a "bug" (i think it's a trojan) from msn for mac. So beware.. it is possible, and likely! My problem now... is trying to FIND a program for mac... not alot of virus/ad/spy blocker/remover programs out there for mac.  |
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Apr 29 2008, 06:33 PM
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#10
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Member Group: Members Posts: 22 Joined: 12-April 08 Member No.: 202,567 |
QUOTE(santoro420 @ Apr 21 2008, 11:19 PM) i have been using both apple and windows based systems for 20 years. I have always preferred Mac, but i DID start on one. As for viruses.... i NEVER had one before... now i have the intel based mac and have some sort of a "bug" (i think it's a trojan) from msn for mac. So beware.. it is possible, and likely! My problem now... is trying to FIND a program for mac... not alot of virus/ad/spy blocker/remover programs out there for mac. Its because people believe macs are "invincible". Its one of the annoying side-effects. Since people think macs are invincible, they don't make programs for macs. So, in essence, if a mac is it, its as good as dead(if its a good virus). |
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May 4 2008, 01:28 PM
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#11
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Member Group: Members Posts: 46 Joined: 19-March 08 Member No.: 197,412 |
Not many people have macs or Linux. Just look around. Its easier to write a viruses for windows then mac or Linux. Also a lot more people use windows so you can infect more people. So its easier to do damage and you damage more computers.
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May 20 2008, 04:41 PM
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#12
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 Forum Addict Group: Members Posts: 1,131 Joined: 11-January 05 From: Australia Member No.: 9,289 |
when i ordered my first Mac over the Phone the guy said to me "Macs don't get viruses etc", i just thought to myself, what a load of crap. The reason being is Viruses are very common for windows because so many people use windows and that means more infections and probably more $$$ on virus programs. High majority of the creators of viruses are probably the makers of the stupid programs. The day will come when Macs get "Out There" because Apple have been booming with accessories like iPod, iPhone, so people new to Apple products will learn, hey they make computers. And Apple sales of Macs are rising.
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Jun 21 2008, 06:51 PM
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#13
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 Member Group: HJT Junior Classmen Posts: 117 Joined: 8-June 08 From: Ontario Member No.: 214,918 |
QUOTE(Zero_Days @ Apr 13 2008, 12:08 PM) QUOTE(mike18xx @ Apr 10 2008, 11:25 AM) Apple's OS market-share is rapidly increasing among HD movie-watchers and gamers due to its lack of DRM "features" which encrust Vista. Well, we might be seeing more viruses for the mac in the near future. Aww.. that's a shame!  Not after we have the HJT team and all 
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