Intego Warns of New "Malware for Mac"

[yomamashump]

My Personal Operating System Breakdown:

Mac = Easy to use, very few virii/malware, limited hardware compatibility options

Unix = Hard to use, almost no virii/malware, better but still limited hardware compatibility options

Windows = Average use difficulty, lots of virii/malware, best hardware compatibility options


Take your pick. They all have flaws. The best OS would be

Winbuntu X

Windows compatibility
Mac style and ease of use
Linux Freedom

[Luppin]

Ubuntu is based off of linux/Unix...so is Mac OS

Ubuntu isn't "based" off of Linux/Unix, it's a distribution of Linux (it IS Linux), which is based on Minix, a Unix-like operating system.

Let's not forget that Newer Macintosh operating systems, such as the Mac OS X, is built on the Unix kernel, which is one of the oldest and most secure operating systems available. Much more than a PC running windows.

Sources.

And take a gander at this: Mac versus Windows vulnerability stats for 2007 | Zero Day | ZDNet.com

[dale2]

Ubuntu isn't "based" off of Linux/Unix, it's a distribution of Linux (it IS Linux), which is based on Minix, a Unix-like operating system.



Sources.

And take a gander at this: Mac versus Windows vulnerability stats for 2007 | Zero Day | ZDNet.com

theres a difference between vulnerabilities and exploits for those vulnerabilities.

thats like saying Person A is allergic to water
but Person B is allergic to windex, alcohol, latex, pine sol, peanuts, and other easily avoidable substances
so since person A has less vulnerabilities, hes safer.

[lolcats1]

my apologies to the mods. i didn't mean to turn this into a mac vs. pc argument.

that being said, i do claim the throne as official rabble rouser of MMI.

[Kroo]

Lol. What happened to macs not getting viruses?

And the best thing? This wont affect PC's.

WIN

It's not a virus.

No you won't be affected by this. You have 200,000 other bugs, viruses and trojans to worry about dude.

[lolcats1]

It's not a virus.

No you won't be affected by this. You have 200,000 other bugs, viruses and trojans to worry about dude.

this argument already happened. virus is malware.

either way, i'm currently on a mac,

soo....

[Kroo]

this argument already happened. virus is malware.

either way, i'm currently on a mac,

soo....

A virus runs automated scripts and does things in background (ie; send emails to all contacts in your address book) as opposed to a trojan/malware, which is an exploit that allows your computer to be run remotely from another computer. A third party needs to be at the helm to control the system. Keystroke recorders are the one thing that run on their own. None of these will crash a Unix system, just screw with all your stuff and use your internet as a remote server. A hacker has to be at his computer to run apps or reconfigure the system. That is what makes Unix a safer OS. You can stuff a hacker up by running a program called little snitch which blocks all unauthorised connections or just turn off the modem and only connect to the internet when you need to. A hacker will give up and move on if there is no ongoing connection to your computer. Hackers were mainly pimply faced students with enough knowledge to write these malicious codes for PC, but with newer OS's the coder has to have a high level of knowledge to execute it. With so much app writing and a hunger for software programers these days, all the smart hackers are making money doing better things, like writing anti virus software. Some also drop little viruses from time to time to create a little more business, or expose exploits give them more cred.
A Unix or Linux OS is not unhackable, but it is a lot safer than Windows NT OS's.

[steve-z17]

Lol. What happened to macs not getting viruses?

And the best thing? This wont affect PC's.

WIN

Who ever said Macs don't get viruses? They can...but it's extremely rare. No one takes the time to create a virus for Mac because there's such a small percentage of people that actually use them that it would be a waste of time. I hear about viruses for Windows all the time...Macs, hardly ever. I for one am glad that not too many people use Mac, it keeps things like this to a small small number

Just don't be stupid and you'll have nothing to worry about!

[pyromcr]

scary stuff...

[Cer0]

I got little snitch myself. Well worth buying. Annoy at first but once you got your normal connections cleared to go then nice to have.

If you are on Comcast internet they now offer Macs Norton's Internet Security Suite for free like they do for PCs.

[awesomeSlayer]

LOL So true!

All Mac systems are now getting some scary malware. This is getting to the point where Mac OS X users need anti-malware software. Can these malware creators can just get a life? Who creates them anyway?

[iphone8130hak]

look out for that crap

[Success.Is.Sweet]

Who creates them anyway?

People get paid to make viruses. Quite a lot actually.

[iphone8130hak]

anti virus is the sh"t

[riku98523]

Let's not forget that Newer Macintosh operating systems, such as the Mac OS X, is built on the Unix kernel, which is one of the oldest and most secure operating systems available. Much more than a PC running windows.

I love my macs. ^^

I lol'd at this post Mac isn't built on Unix that's a bold faced lie from Apple they take Unix they break it then they tweak it a bunch to the point of being unrecognizable to a proper Unix based system. If you want the real power of a Unix based system upgrade to Linux (and get used to it) you will never go back.

[rhekt]

I wonder if this will prompt Apple to patch the hole... or prompt a bunch of Mac users to go by anti-virus software.

probably allittle of both. but the real stab here from Intego is. not only are they [in my opinion] the best protection for a Mac that you can buy. but theyll charge you a premium annual fee to continue your ability to get upgrades. [for life]. theyve really got it made. buy our premium software at a premium price and continue to have to pay fees or we'll stop giving you updates. then theyll scare the public with a WHOLE new version of spyware which will prompt more users to enter their cycle. they probably had the malicious code written for all we know. i for one am one of the suckers that bought into this. [HOWEVER] i can tell you for certain i am virus free. it'll even scan your iphone or ipod [probably iPAd as well] and actually, the only virus i have found came from the Cydia store via the security app Metasploit.

[Masterz1337]

How would you know if you're infected?

[Cer0]

You buy their software. Some are saying they cooked this up for sales or whatever. Who knows. Not sure if any of the other anti-virus software for mac's have this in their systems.

[rhekt]

How would you know if you're infected?

you scan your computer. if it finds any viruses it will quaratine it and alert you. then you have the choice of eradicating the virus or telling it that the file is safe.

......Not sure if any of the other anti-virus software for mac's have this in their systems.

macscan also had an update for this

[Forever Young]

probably allittle of both. but the real stab here from Intego is. not only are they [in my opinion] the best protection for a Mac that you can buy. but theyll charge you a premium annual fee to continue your ability to get upgrades. [for life]. theyve really got it made. buy our premium software at a premium price and continue to have to pay fees or we'll stop giving you updates. then theyll scare the public with a WHOLE new version of spyware which will prompt more users to enter their cycle. they probably had the malicious code written for all we know. i for one am one of the suckers that bought into this. [HOWEVER] i can tell you for certain i am virus free. it'll even scan your iphone or ipod [probably iPAd as well] and actually, the only virus i have found came from the Cydia store via the security app Metasploit.

how do you get it to scan your iphone? I have intego programs but know how to do that