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BBC warns Mac users of security threat

updated 12:25 pm EST, Mon January 16, 2006

Mac malware plausible

Viruses tailored for Macs are uncommon, but belief of infalibility leaves users exposed to attack, according to a new BBC column. Comprising only about four percent of the personal PC market, Mac users don't prove to be a popular target, as much of the motivation for creating malware is its widespread effect. The first known virus, the against once common illnesses-- it works better when everyone does it. "Any Mac user who believes they are totally safe is being reckless with their files and personal information. What's worse, they are also being reckless with mine."

by MacNN Staff

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Gorloth
Registered User

Joined: Nov 2001

0

01/16, 12:49pm | report spam | close Reply |
Reckless

Any one who uses a PC has a target on their back if they don't have CPU hogging pop up blockers, spyware filters and virus detectors. Why not speak up about the importance of system backups. I can restore my system in less than 4 minutes with SuperDuper if need be.

ezylstra
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jul 1999

0

01/16, 12:57pm | report spam | close Reply |
Safer without protection

Got Symantec? Then you're open to a much more severe exploit that exists. The OS X anti-viruses have caused more stability and data corruption issues than a singe virus outbreak would cause--if there had been one.

bhuot
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Nov 2003

0

01/16, 01:00pm | report spam | close Reply |
we keep bailing them out

Just don't use Micrososft products. Why should Mac users have to scan viruses they are immune to because MS sell-outs out there continue to cling to their infested PCs. Why should I feel sorry for users I have already warned and who decide not to follow my advice? Why should we have to subsidize Windows users from theiur Total Cost of Ownership. The more we bail out PC users, the longer they will stick with PCs.

ZinkDifferent
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jan 2005

0

01/16, 01:15pm | report spam | close Reply |
Okay, let's see...

THe very first Virus in the world was on the Apple II (another Apple computer), THEREFORE MACS ARE AT RISK... Run, panic, chaos!!!!

Yes, the risk exists. Yes, some day it will happen that a Mac virus comes out. All things being considered, PC users and their virus factories (Windows PCs) are a far greater risk to 'my files', than some hypothetical 'risk' from a fictional virus.

The hyperbole of writers on a slow news day is oftentimes amazing.

fds
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Sep 2004

0

01/16, 01:16pm | report spam | close Reply |
Viruses tailored for Macs

"Viruses tailored for Macs are uncommon," yeah right.

Since when is uncommon a synonym for non-existant?

Horsepoo!!!
Banned

Joined: Jun 2003

0

01/16, 01:17pm | report spam | close Reply |
Oooohoohoohooooo...

...I'm quakin' in my boots.

eldarkus
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Feb 2004

0

01/16, 01:24pm | report spam | close Reply |
comment

I was gonna comment on this artile, but it's just a bunch of worthless blabber! All he's doing is throwing a pie in the face of those "smug" mac users who said that they are safe.

And in case you didnt want to read the full article, it goes something like this: NO COMPUTER IS 100% SAFE! the end. Everyone be sure to thank him for that updated info!! :P

Maybe he should focus his attenton on drivers of tank-like SUV's who don't wear their seatbelt. Same f'ing difference!

LordJohnWhorfin
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Aug 2002

0

01/16, 01:54pm | report spam | close Reply |
He has a point.

OSX is not 100% safe, and viruses can be written for it (and will be when its market share reaches critical mass).

It is, however, orders of magnitude safer than Windows, and is likely to remain so for quite a while; and that should be the the conclusion of the article, not "no computer is 100% safe".

MacScientist
Junior Member

Joined: Feb 2000

0

01/16, 02:13pm | report spam | close Reply |
Re: he has a point

"OSX is not 100% safe, and viruses can be written for it (and will be when its market share reaches critical mass)."

There is absolutely no scientific proof to support the hypothesis of "security through obscurity." The marketshare argument is just a retread of the w****'s excuse: "I'm not a w****, I'm just popular."

whackjob
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Aug 2005

0

01/16, 02:33pm | report spam | close Reply |
Yawn

Do we have to read one of these freakin things after every Macworld? I'm not smug, just confident that the odds of me getting a virus are slim, very slim. It's almost as though these columnist are enticing hackers to give it a shot on OSX.

amani
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jan 2006

0

01/16, 02:51pm | report spam | close Reply |
Mac OS X has 0 virurses

I'm not going to rant and rave about this. Instead, I'll offer a simple defense from April 5, 2005:

"research from Sophos PLC showed that 68 viruses have affected the Mac while 97,467 have affected Windows. Of those 68, most are a decade old or older and don�t directly affect OS X."

http://www.digitmag.co.uk/features/index.cfm?FeatureID=1239

beeble
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Mar 2004

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01/16, 03:26pm | report spam | close Reply |
odds

That's more than 1400 windows viruses per classic virus. So if I was using a classic mac, that would mean I'm statistically 1400 times less likely to get a virus. If you take into account the fact that these viruses are almost, if not completely dead, then the odds of an old mac getting a virus versus a PC are even better.

Now with OS X the odds of me getting a virus tomorrow are very close but not quite equal to 1 divided by infinity (math symbol, not the car for those of you who slept through high school). Practically 0. What are the odds of a PC being live on the internet for 24 hours and used all day long with file sharing turned on and not getting a single virus? I wouldn't even bet $1 on it.

Yes, OS X could have a virus written for it. There have been viruses written for other nix's before. But they are extremely few and far between and require a very high level of skill with the core components of the OS.

OS X isn't built like most nix's. It has many fundamental differences so the pool of crackers (not hackers who are merely good programmers) available to attempt this is extremely small. Since most of them now have families and well paying careers, why would they return to the hacking of their college days from so many years ago? What's in it for them? Most PC viruses are nothing more than simple scripts that exploit any one of the numerous holes in that giant swiss cheese that is windows.

This is why there aren't any viruses yet and there won't be tomorrow or the day after. This is why when one does eventually happen it won't be the beginning of a cascade of viruses. It will be met by antivirus software (who will hopefully be actually useful by then) and the exploit will be closed by Apple within 2-3 weeks in a security update. The world will not end. The PC world won't even be effected at all, assuming people are still using them in 2047.

Gabriel Morales

Joined:

0

01/16, 03:56pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Tired old Story...

Seriously, I agree with the other poster-- It's almost as if these rag-tag writers *want* to see a virus for Mac OS X out.

And let's be real-- It's not just Mac OS X that's well-built, security-wise, it's that Windoze is so unsecure. I have a PC. I run Linux on it. And guess what? I don't have to worry about viruses there either.

It is only Windoze that offers the user such insecurity. And if you really want to eliminate your risk then stop being "careless with your data" and use Linux, UNIX or Mac OS X instead of Windoze.

SierraDragon
Mac Elite

Joined: Mar 2004

0

01/16, 04:06pm | report spam | close Reply |
A/V is a bigger risk

What beeble said.

At the present time av software is far more problematic than the risk of Mac virus (none for seven years or so).

Arguments that claim small market share is why there have been zero Mac viruses are ludicrous. Virus writers are largely ego driven, and being the only writer to access the Mac would be a huge ego boost; much bigger than being the 10,000th writer to slide into Window's swiss cheese OS.

dolfox
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jan 2005

0

01/16, 04:55pm | report spam | close Reply |
again...

these mac virus warnings are like my doctor telling me, one day, i am going to die. one day, he's going to be right, it may be tomorrow or 30 years from now. one day, some shmoe will write a mac virus. then it will be headline news 'cause macs will be vulnerable to ONE virus, as opposed to windows that is constantly bombarded with all kinds of c***. let me remind everyone that anti-virus is only as good as the most recently known virus, so you'll get caught with your pants down anyway.

JulesLt
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jul 2005

0

01/16, 06:51pm | report spam | close Reply |
Second Time Around

He wrote the same article, near enough, a few months back (I know because I commented on his blog). It's an easy one to write. To an extent he has a point, in that Mac owners are often unbearably smug, especially when they suggest switching to a Mac to avoid virus infection, and that every computer user needs to be familiar with the concept of a Trojan.

I also think that to the uninformed reader, they may come out thinking that Unix (as a whole) is as bad as Windows, which clearly isn't true. 'Oh well, they're all as bad as each other so I may as well stick with what I know'.

To be fair to Windows, they're closed most of the dumb vulnerabilities now - most of the ones being reported these days are in the same 'buffer overflow' category that is your typical Unix app vulnerability.

Without being smug, but with 14 years experience working in IT and 25 years of playing around with them, I would still wager that your average user would be 99% more secure on a Mac, even if they had 50% market share - and that the only thing they would be vulnerable to would be the Trojan (because there is no way any computer can defend against stupidity, unless they forced every application to be digitally signed).

werps
Forum Regular

Joined: Nov 2002

0

01/16, 07:40pm | report spam | close Reply |
How Stupid?

Mr, Thomas must work around some pretty careless Mac users to blunder such wind!

Titanium Man
Forum Regular

Joined: Mar 2001

0

01/16, 09:29pm | report spam | close Reply |
What a fool

How does one "vaccinate" one's computer against something unknown? I'll worry about OS X viruses when they appear. Besides, as much as he seems to hate Macs and Mac users, how is it he doesn't seem to know that an OS X virus wouldn't be able to affect his beloved PCs?

vickys_box
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jan 2003

0

01/17, 10:02am | report spam | close Reply |
Wait..

He's got a new article now:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4620548.stm

spyinthesky1

Joined:

0

04/10, 03:31pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
dear oh dear

I do love it when we are told because we are immune to pc viruses we are actually to blame for passing them on. What warped logic is this? Either sort your own protection out or change to a system that doesn't have that threat. This smacks of that sort of rabid jingoism that perpetuates itself (rather like a virus) in majorities when they see a threat from something, or someone for being different. When the difference is bad one might perhaps understand it but when as in this case the differences are so much for the better one has to wonder about the sanity of these people. The BBC should know better.

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BBC warns Mac users of security threat

updated 12:25 pm EST, Mon January 16, 2006

Mac malware plausible

Reckless

Safer without protection

we keep bailing them out

Okay, let's see...

Viruses tailored for Macs

Oooohoohoohooooo...

comment

He has a point.

Re: he has a point

Yawn

Mac OS X has 0 virurses

odds

Tired old Story...

A/V is a bigger risk

again...

Second Time Around

How Stupid?

What a fool

Wait..

dear oh dear

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BBC warns Mac users of security threat

updated 12:25 pm EST, Mon January 16, 2006

Mac malware plausible

Related Articles

Recent Articles

Reckless

Safer without protection

we keep bailing them out

Okay, let's see...

Viruses tailored for Macs

Oooohoohoohooooo...

comment

He has a point.

Re: he has a point

Yawn

Mac OS X has 0 virurses

odds

Tired old Story...

A/V is a bigger risk

again...

Second Time Around

How Stupid?

What a fool

Wait..

dear oh dear

Login Here

Register for our weekly email newsletter:

Connect tools:

Subscribe

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on Twitter

10 Most Read

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MacNN Marketplace