If you're one of those that think there are no viruses or other malware for Mac OS X, then you're mistaken. The only reason why viruses haven proliferate to Mac OS X is only because viruses' creators are busy devising new nasty malware programs for Windows and because the market share of Mac users is still too small to justify the time spent creating them.
But now that Apple has been cutting a larger and larger piece of the market's pie, the attention of these "evil-doers" has turned to Mac OS X and other Apple-related software.
The latest news on this issue are related to torrent-based downloads. People downloading the latest version of iWork'09 or Photoshop CS4 through the popular file-sharing network are likely to also be downloading a trojan that gives access to your computer to a mal-intentioned user.
So, you might want to consider installing an anti-virus, specially if you're downloading this software from these "not-so-legal" networks.
27 January 2009
The consequences of being a popular OS
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1 comment:
You truly area a Mac newbie, since you've fallen for the conventional wisdom that viruses, etc. on the Mac is simply a numbers game. That is not the case!
Windows viruses: 50,000 and counting.
Windows malware: many tens of thousands.
Mac viruses: 0. That's right, none at all.
Mac malware: A handful. Most included in pirated software downloads, as you noted.
The only malevolent software on Macs requires several steps of user involvement; most of which contradict common sense.
I have experience with anti-virus software on the Mac; since it was required by a Windows-based parent company CTO, who knows nothing of Macs.
Anti-virus software on the Mac -causes- more problems than it prevents!! It hogs resources, slows down the user with interruptions, and in Norton's case, routinely fails to download updates, which are completely unnecessary anyway.
Don't fall for McAfees annual scare tactics, they and other so-called computer security companies actively create attempts at viruses as a FUD tactic to increase their business. Their attempts to do so are always debunked in a matter of days; then they admit that it was only a "proof of concept."
The main reason that there are -no- viruses for the Mac is that it is UNIX based. UNIX is by definition difficult to write viruses for, because it is permissions based. It's as simple as that.
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