Quillz Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 It's not an exploit if you have to run it yourself and allow it to run with full privileges. The fault is with the user. And that's how the vast majority of viruses on Windows get spread, yet people like to blame Microsoft instead of the user. But when a virus targets Mac OS X, Apple is never at fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_c_b Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 And that's how the vast majority of viruses on Windows get spread, yet people like to blame Microsoft instead of the user. Not true, tons of Windows exploits are transparent to the user, don't compare running an installer manually and submitting your admin password with an IE drive by or daring to open an email attachment. I've been a Windows engineer for 15 years and while yes, a good number exploits require human intervention, at least half of those exploits only require you to be using your computer. Yes, staying up to date is key, and that is why a socially engineered thing like the one in the original post is even possible, just like Antivirus 2009, it's only possible because people are terrified of just generally using their Windows computers and the uncoordinated flurry of app updates along with steady Windows updates leave non-technical users befuddled. I can hear it now "oh, another update, sheesh okay. Click, click, click, reboot, what the heck????!!!". My dad still thinks Office is part of the OS and expects everything to ask for updates all the time, he's not dumb he just has more important things to worry about than his PC, and that is true for lots of people who don't work in the industry or who are in to it enough to be posting on a message board. Apple needs to find a way to remind users that updates for the OS never come from anywhere except Software Update, I think the "you got this app from the Internet" pop up is a good start, but as socially engineered variations like this increase, the message needs to get more clear and probably a little more forceful. That's why I am not anti-UAC in Vista or 7, for Windows users you need to jar them out of just clicking on stuff and it's a step in the right direction. I'll say UAC and some other measures showed great progress on Windows, but drive-bys aren't entirely gone and it's not like the bad guys will stop trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boz Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 It's only those who aren't Technically inclined who would allow unknown codec's or download mac patches from third party sites... people will still get infected....those who don't know what to watch out for. ;) yes most of us here are technically inclined and are curious to learn or else why would you be here.... Same problem that with Windows but hey, that never prevent Apple to go crapping around in their ads. The reality is catching up to Apple too. Knowing them, I'm pretty obvious they'll just play dumb as if there are no viruses whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillz Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Same problem that with Windows but hey, that never prevent Apple to go crapping around in their ads.The reality is catching up to Apple too. Knowing them, I'm pretty obvious they'll just play dumb as if there are no viruses whatsoever. Exactly. Apple continues to act as if Mac OS X really is perfect and bulletproof. I've never run any anti-virus software on Windows and have never gotten a virus. If you are a smart computer user and know never to download questionable software or visit questionable sites, you'll be fine, no matter which OS you happen to be using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadaaron Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Where the fault lies is irrelevant, this proves that viruses can target OSX, therefore making Apple's adverts lies. How the exploit gets on the computer is irrelevant. Yes anyone can get virus's, oh hey heres a file to install, click this.... oh! it says its a virus... click next... So on and so on. But I've never had any spyware or virus on my mac or anyone I know...... I can't say the same for Windows thats for damn sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-99 ODST Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Exactly. Apple continues to act as if Mac OS X really is perfect and bulletproof.I've never run any anti-virus software on Windows and have never gotten a virus. If you are a smart computer user and know never to download questionable software or visit questionable sites, you'll be fine, no matter which OS you happen to be using. That statement alone still proves the old axiom for safe computing. It's absolute IMO; I have not been infected with any malware, trojans or viruses for over 4 years w/ no AV software. Ever since XP SP2 things have been nice and quiet. I always end up asking the question, what's the reason behind buying a Mac and I still can't justify it. I like Macs but I just don't see the logic in paying more for something that can't do any given task better than a PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyX Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 That statement alone still proves the old axiom for safe computing.It's absolute IMO; I have not been infected with any malware, trojans or viruses for over 4 years w/ no AV software. Ever since XP SP2 things have been nice and quiet. I always end up asking the question, what's the reason behind buying a Mac and I still can't justify it. I like Macs but I just don't see the logic in paying more for something that can't do any given task better than a PC. Well it depends on what tasks you're talking about. Things have changed a lot in the couple of past years, but there's also some things that I think the Mac just "doesn't" have it. Creating text documents for instance, I don't like Pages nor Word, let alone TextEdit. Word 2007 on Windows rules them all. This is very debatable and personal though. Online messaging just doesn't cut it either because even if there's a variety of apps, some of them are in JAVA (which I will never use), the rest don't work fine with handwriting, custom smileys, fast file transfers, audio conversations, video conversations, etc. unless you have a specific protocol. On Windows, you'll get this a lot better. Engineering apps. I would gladly welcome AutoCAD, CATIA, Statistica-like applications (oh Lord, I wouldn't want a direct conversion if this ever happened) and all those other apps that I don't know of that are used in the world of engineering. Other than that, I disagree with your comment that tasks on the Mac are not made in a better way than on Windows, but hey, this is exactly why I switched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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