Virus alert for MAC!

[TimBoettcher]

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/05/26/apple-fighting-worst-mac-virus/

[cyburg]

TThanks for the info

[wgnoyes]

Okay, so this leads into a question I've had. OS X is linux/unix based. Do you need any sort of AV system for a mac (because there ARE some choices available out there)? Apple has touted in the past that you don't need it, but an apple store associate told me their backoffice store systems are running something.

[BayouSlide]

When I first heard of this I found it ironic that the malware was couched as an antivirus program.

Back in the old days, we used to joke that Norton Antivirus for the Mac was the virus...it always seemed to cause more trouble than it solved.

Curtis

[wgnoyes]

Oh I've seen creeping crud get on PC's that, when you tried to open or start ANYTHING (even paltry notepad), you get pop-ups saying your computer has horrible viruses (it does - the virus is the thing launching the pop-ups) and it won't let you do any work until this problem gets fixed and go here to buy and install the stuff that will fix it, which likely just adds more crud to your already screwed-up system.

[RangerTrace]

I'm running Protecmac antivirus on both of ours. It might not have been needed, but it makes me feel more secure.

[outerlimits]

administrator login requirements for installation keeps life pretty simple. newer permutation installs without that, which is a bit scary. practicing safe computing on a mac means just that. had macs since day one and have never had an issue.

[raz-0]

<br />administrator login requirements for installation keeps life pretty simple. newer permutation installs without that, which is a bit scary. practicing safe computing on a mac means just that. had macs since day one and have never had an issue.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

Times are changing. OS x isn't that different than unix, they are x86 underneath, you have more marketshare than ever before, and you have lots of users with the attitude that macs don't get viruses.

It's a perfectly viable platform to make a buck off of by adding to your botnet. It's only going to get worse b

[sierra77mk]

I heard about this scam 2 days ago and got a popup fake "scan" window today!

As a precaution I downloaded the free verson of SOPHOS for home use 3 months ago, and it immediately gave me a malware alert.

It runs in the background and after the initial install and scan, this was the only activity I have ever seen.

http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools.aspx

[wgnoyes]

i watched a podcast on this last night. There's an option to set in safari that tells him not to automatically open and run files considered "safe" when you download them. Even so, watching the podcast, there were at least 3 to 4 different opportunities to catch this nonsense before it got installed owing to the design of the operating system. People just need to be careful. (Damn, and I forgot to talk to them at the Apple Store last night about what they run for security!)