Spyware and keystroke loggers have often been thought of as a Windows only problem, but Nicholas Raba, CEO of SecureMac.com and co-author of Maximum Security says many Apple Macintosh users may have a false sense of security. SecureMac has released MacScan which detects and removes Macintosh spyware, remote administration utilities and keystroke loggers. In a telephone interview, Raba talked to us about current and future Macintosh spyware and virus threats.
Raba hails from Las Vegas, Nevada and has been programming on the Macintosh since the Mac Classic days. He has been involved in the computer security for several years and is probably more well-known for his hacker handle "Freaky" than his real name. Raba has authored Mac Security in 2004 and co-authored the 4th edition of Maximum Security.
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State that Macs may not be secure and oh, by the way I've released a Mac anti spyware product, please buy it...
I'm going to worry about mac security when there is a valid reason.
There is no way to get infected on OSX unless you are dumb enough to not wonder why your suddenly being asked for your admin password, and then you are actually dumb enough to type it in.
Even in a buffer overflow situation a install could not happen because you will still be asked for your admin password.
The reason Macs's aren't infected is because Macs do not have a way for a "drive by download" to occur.
The point is its not really feasible to mass install it like you can on windows systems because anytime something needs to be installed that hooks itself into the system OSX requires you to enter the admin password.
I would recommend you read up on Macs and how exactly they are secure, it has nothing to do with bug free coding
Last edited by Qumahlin on 31 Dec 2005 - 23:32
"The less frequent variations viri and virii are virtually unknown in edited prose, and no major dictionary recognizes them as alternative forms."
1. No one knew/knows this guy in the security scene.
2. This guy claims there are dozens of different spyware available, why does Apple to this claim on their website that OS X is spyware free (and so do its many users). The only spyware it currently has (if it even exists) is that from a browser such as Firefox, but if that were the case, then all platforms running Firefox will be vulnerable and it is most likely in the form of an user installed extension.
3. He continues to lie when he says this:
"He adds that proof of concept virus code is already running around the Internet and that a major Mac virus is inevitable."
Let's underline this to make it very clear. There are zero viruses for the Mac OS X. Some guy offered a large amount of sum a few months back.. he has yet to pay out.
Here are some more jolly comments:
http://digg.com/apple/Spyware_Keyloggers_for_Mac_OSX_
OSX has no viruses or trojans because:
1. it doesn't run as root by default.
2. it's based on a very secure BSD core.
3. and lastly, and certainly the least important reason, the Macs have a smaller market share. malicious programmers simply don't feel the need to waste their efforts on a system that is practically unexploitable AND happens to have a small market share, which even further stops the mass spreading of their viruses because of the first two situations.
i'm a Windows user and i loathe both OSX and Apple, so don't think i'm trolling. just stating some facts that should end OSX/Virii discussions.
I've used Linux, Windows & OSX and I can't recall any off them producing such feeling as to loathe them
What is the reason for your loathing?
secondly, and probably more importantly, the lack of software (especially for specific needs).. i can't believe there's not a decent audio player that gives me the freedom of say, foobar2000 on Windows.. iTunes is usable for a listen-only experience, but it doesn't let me do much else with my music collection.. not to mention, playing different audio formats than AAC/MP3 and the more popular of the bunch.. there are a couple of them rising and i got my eye on them, but in general that is the situation i encounter with the system.. there may be one or two apps for a specific purpose, and usually one is regarded as the absolute savior of that category and the sole reason to use OSX, when in fact it's belittled when compared to similar programs on Windows or Linux..
there are many, many much smaller aspects of the system that bother me to high heaven, mainly UI design.. what if i don't like the damn Apple bar to be on top? what if i want it on the left, or the right, or hey -- the bottom? it's things like this that Apple forces on to the users that pisses me off.
That said, if repositioning the taskbar is high on your priority list then it seems that OSX is not the platform for you
On the programs for Audio, whilst no foobar, version tracker lists a lot of audio software
http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/cat/audio
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