Anti-Virus Program
05-30-2009, 02:24 PM
#12
Contributors
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Riverdale, New York
Posts: 1,417
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My Ride: 2008 535xi / Platinum Grey / Black leather / Step Auto / Sport / Premium / Cold weather / 18" wheels / Logic 7 / Comfort / ipod / Navigation / Fold Down Rear Seats / Rear Airbags / Sirius SAT / Spoiler / Extended Clear bra / Bluetooth. (Previously owned a 2002 sport 525I Loaded).
On order: 535xi Platnium Grey with Black interior, Step Auto, Sports package, Premium package, Cold weather package, 18" wheels, Logic 7, Comfort access, ipod adapt, Navigation, Sat radio, Rear spoiler, Extended Clear coat bra.
Originally Posted by ImolaRedM' post='894835' date='May 30 2009, 10:57 AM
A Mac 
HAHA
06-01-2009, 01:01 AM
#13
Senior Members
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Bucharest, Romania
Posts: 6,458
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by narvselius' post='894960' date='May 30 2009, 08:59 PM
Mac isn't as safe as it used to be, "thanks to" that hacking is a big business nowadays. I listened to this podcast from the BBC Hacked to pieces and got depressed... 
Here is a great article explaining lots of Mac related security!
I for one continue not to use any kind of antivirus programs on my Mac. I've been doing it for over half a year now, and there is no problem at all. Mac users have reported they used their Macs for years and years without having to deal with any kind of malware. Of course there are a few guys that unavoidable, due to the lack of brains or ignorance, get infected with trojans and stuff like that when they install a pirated software for example, or users that practically give away their passwords, use weak password hints and stuff like that. For that stupidity there is no security app in the world that can help you.
To quote somebody:
Look at:
http://www.symantec.com/business/security_...erabilities.jsp
this is a list of vulnerabilities; NOT live threats, vulnerabilities.
178 include the words Microsoft and/or Windows
9 include the words Apple and/or Mac (none include "OS X")
In live threats, the Mac is literally at least, 100,000 times safer. And in known vulnerabilities it is 20 times safer.
http://www.symantec.com/business/security_...erabilities.jsp
this is a list of vulnerabilities; NOT live threats, vulnerabilities.
178 include the words Microsoft and/or Windows
9 include the words Apple and/or Mac (none include "OS X")
In live threats, the Mac is literally at least, 100,000 times safer. And in known vulnerabilities it is 20 times safer.
06-01-2009, 03:46 AM
#14
Senior Members
...GTFO 
i was gonna do the whole Mac Securutity bit, but looks like BetterMakeWay beat me too it =P
Thx =D
AVG and Antivir have detection rates in the low 50% percent range in tests.
Plus, they're very...very bloated.
Check the attachment for a comparison.
i was gonna do the whole Mac Securutity bit, but looks like BetterMakeWay beat me too it =P
Thx =D
Originally Posted by tex_phil' post='894900' date='May 30 2009, 01:01 PM
Plus, they're very...very bloated.
Check the attachment for a comparison.
06-01-2009, 03:58 AM
#15
Super Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Pittsburgh, PA USA
Posts: 17,310
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
My Ride: G30 M550i
Model Year: 2018
Originally Posted by BetterMakeWay' post='896469' date='Jun 1 2009, 05:01 AM
That's a big misconception. Mac is JUST as safe as it used to be. People have to understand the difference between vulnerabilities and exploits, and the difference between type of malware, and which is active and which is not.
Here is a great article explaining lots of Mac related security!
I for one continue not to use any kind of antivirus programs on my Mac. I've been doing it for over half a year now, and there is no problem at all. Mac users have reported they used their Macs for years and years without having to deal with any kind of malware. Of course there are a few guys that unavoidable, due to the lack of brains or ignorance, get infected with trojans and stuff like that when they install a pirated software for example, or users that practically give away their passwords, use weak password hints and stuff like that. For that stupidity there is no security app in the world that can help you.
Here is a great article explaining lots of Mac related security!
I for one continue not to use any kind of antivirus programs on my Mac. I've been doing it for over half a year now, and there is no problem at all. Mac users have reported they used their Macs for years and years without having to deal with any kind of malware. Of course there are a few guys that unavoidable, due to the lack of brains or ignorance, get infected with trojans and stuff like that when they install a pirated software for example, or users that practically give away their passwords, use weak password hints and stuff like that. For that stupidity there is no security app in the world that can help you.
Just put the term "OS-X" or use the term "Apple" in the search box of the following site and see what you get:
http://www.us-cert.gov/
If I were a Mac user, and I'm not, I'd believe US-CERT before some random blogger and remain diligent about patching my system and it's software. Sure, it's probably true that Windows systems are more vulnerable but that doesn't automatically eliminate Apple from it's share of the risks of computing...
06-01-2009, 06:10 AM
#17
Senior Members
I'd like to retract part of my previous post. Didn't realize he was defending macs.
I'll put it this way.
If you were a hacker; which would You hack?:
-90+ percent of the market share (pc) with a higher chance of hacking a server containing valueable data
Or...
-less than 10% of the market share which would contain little to no valuable Information.
Hackers are like marketers. They want to target the largest mass of people.
There's no point in hacking a mac.
Mac users win by default, not because their system is safer.
I'll give credit to mac where it's due, but I will not credit Their users ignorence and blind faith.
P.s. I wrote all this on my iPhone <3
I'll put it this way.
If you were a hacker; which would You hack?:
-90+ percent of the market share (pc) with a higher chance of hacking a server containing valueable data
Or...
-less than 10% of the market share which would contain little to no valuable Information.
Hackers are like marketers. They want to target the largest mass of people.
There's no point in hacking a mac.
Mac users win by default, not because their system is safer.
I'll give credit to mac where it's due, but I will not credit Their users ignorence and blind faith.
P.s. I wrote all this on my iPhone <3
06-01-2009, 07:40 AM
#18
Contributors
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: South Florida
Posts: 1,921
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My Ride: 2008 535i w/ Sports & Permium Pkg. Silv/Blk
2008 VW R32 w/Nav.
1992 VW Corrado Silv/Blk-retired
2001 530i Sports/Premium-retired
Originally Posted by ShadeZeRO' post='896531' date='Jun 1 2009, 07:46 AM
+1, Nod32 Antivirus 4 is fantastic. Detection rate is in the high 90% range.
I have the business version installed all across my work computers.
...GTFO
i was gonna do the whole Mac Securutity bit, but looks like BetterMakeWay beat me too it =P
Thx =D
AVG and Antivir have detection rates in the low 50% percent range in tests.
Plus, they're very...very bloated.
Check the attachment for a comparison.
I have the business version installed all across my work computers.
...GTFO
i was gonna do the whole Mac Securutity bit, but looks like BetterMakeWay beat me too it =P
Thx =D
AVG and Antivir have detection rates in the low 50% percent range in tests.
Plus, they're very...very bloated.
Check the attachment for a comparison.
06-01-2009, 09:24 AM
#19
Senior Members
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Bucharest, Romania
Posts: 6,458
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Rudy' post='896536' date='Jun 1 2009, 02:58 PM
I'm no expert but I'm not sure that Mac users should just put their head in the sand and ignore the fact that there are, at least according to US-CERT, plenty of vulnerabilities that affect OS-X. These vulnerabilities can be part of OS-X itself or part of other software that runs on it (like Java, Quicktime, Flash, Acrobat, etc.) (Keep in mind that it's not just software written by Apple.)
Just put the term "OS-X" or use the term "Apple" in the search box of the following site and see what you get:
http://www.us-cert.gov/
If I were a Mac user, and I'm not, I'd believe US-CERT before some random blogger and remain diligent about patching my system and it's software. Sure, it's probably true that Windows systems are more vulnerable but that doesn't automatically eliminate Apple from it's share of the risks of computing...
Just put the term "OS-X" or use the term "Apple" in the search box of the following site and see what you get:
http://www.us-cert.gov/
If I were a Mac user, and I'm not, I'd believe US-CERT before some random blogger and remain diligent about patching my system and it's software. Sure, it's probably true that Windows systems are more vulnerable but that doesn't automatically eliminate Apple from it's share of the risks of computing...
I have a heart, and hence i'm pretty vulnerable to a heart-attack. Knowing that i take precautions measures to stay healthy, eat correct and work out thus minimizing the change of a heart attack, at least on the short-med term.
Having said that, there is no OS out there and no pice of software without vulnerabilities. Now if we are talking about exploits then that is another business. You will see the number of exploits in OSX are very very few, and it will usually imply for the user to do something stupid. The vast majority of exploits and vulnerabilities come, as you said, from third party software, like Adobe or Java script, or Microsoft (aka MShit). For that i compensate with "precautions measures" as i stated above (eg: turning off java in my browser).
Sure Apple isn't risk free, sure it's not perfect, sure it sometimes crash, but not by long shot as Microsoft. In fact in my Windows->Linux->OS X experience i can say i am by far most satisfied with OS X. And this is coming from an above average user.
Also people tend to forget that installing an anti virus program they truly add some good defensive measures (all if the anti virus is daily updated), but tend to forget that once installed malware code can be written to target the anti virus itself, rendering it useless OR take advantage of any kind of vulnerability in the anti virus (that is also pice of software like many others, just with different instructions and purposes) by seeding code and exploiting it where it's possible.
06-01-2009, 09:31 AM
#20
Senior Members
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Bucharest, Romania
Posts: 6,458
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by ShadeZeRO' post='896593' date='Jun 1 2009, 05:10 PM
I'd like to retract part of my previous post. Didn't realize he was defending macs.
I'll put it this way.
If you were a hacker; which would You hack?:
-90+ percent of the market share (pc) with a higher chance of hacking a server containing valueable data
Or...
-less than 10% of the market share which would contain little to no valuable Information.
Hackers are like marketers. They want to target the largest mass of people.
There's no point in hacking a mac.
Mac users win by default, not because their system is safer.
I'll give credit to mac where it's due, but I will not credit Their users ignorence and blind faith.
P.s. I wrote all this on my iPhone <3
I'll put it this way.
If you were a hacker; which would You hack?:
-90+ percent of the market share (pc) with a higher chance of hacking a server containing valueable data
Or...
-less than 10% of the market share which would contain little to no valuable Information.
Hackers are like marketers. They want to target the largest mass of people.
There's no point in hacking a mac.
Mac users win by default, not because their system is safer.
I'll give credit to mac where it's due, but I will not credit Their users ignorence and blind faith.
P.s. I wrote all this on my iPhone <3
I disagree on the fact that market share has a direct correlation with weakness or strength of an OS. That is IMHO one of the biggest misconceptions and here is a perfectly valid explanation:
The Malware Market Share Myth.
Does malware development require some threshold of market share before it can exist? Is the malware ecosystem ?irreducibly complex? in a way that prevents small pockets of malware from spontaneously developing to exploit smaller markets? If so, this would explain why Apple now has 20% or more of certain markets, but does not have even 1% of the malware market.
Alas, this theory is easy to crush. There have been many examples of thriving malware ?serving? minor markets. Back when all computers used floppy disks, and floppies were easy to infect with boot sector viruses, Macintoshes of the Classic Mac OS era carried and transmitted viruses on floppies despite never having more than 8 to 11% of the market. Viruses were around because of a weakness, not because of the Mac reaching a certain market share threshold in popularity.
Even platform targets that are tiny to the point of insignificant are attacked by malware. Specific versions of small minority of Symbian phones were attacked by a Bluetooth virus, not because those models made up 95% of the phone market, but because there was an open flaw in their software that left them vulnerable to attack.
The idea that Apple will inherit Microsoft?s problems is based in the ignorance that Windows? security problems are rooted in its popularity, rather than its poor architectural design. That is not true, as countless examples of viruses attacking minor platforms attest. Malware targets weakness, not popularity. Windows is plagued with malware, not because it is ubiquitous, but because it is riddled with weaknesses.
Does malware development require some threshold of market share before it can exist? Is the malware ecosystem ?irreducibly complex? in a way that prevents small pockets of malware from spontaneously developing to exploit smaller markets? If so, this would explain why Apple now has 20% or more of certain markets, but does not have even 1% of the malware market.
Alas, this theory is easy to crush. There have been many examples of thriving malware ?serving? minor markets. Back when all computers used floppy disks, and floppies were easy to infect with boot sector viruses, Macintoshes of the Classic Mac OS era carried and transmitted viruses on floppies despite never having more than 8 to 11% of the market. Viruses were around because of a weakness, not because of the Mac reaching a certain market share threshold in popularity.
Even platform targets that are tiny to the point of insignificant are attacked by malware. Specific versions of small minority of Symbian phones were attacked by a Bluetooth virus, not because those models made up 95% of the phone market, but because there was an open flaw in their software that left them vulnerable to attack.
The idea that Apple will inherit Microsoft?s problems is based in the ignorance that Windows? security problems are rooted in its popularity, rather than its poor architectural design. That is not true, as countless examples of viruses attacking minor platforms attest. Malware targets weakness, not popularity. Windows is plagued with malware, not because it is ubiquitous, but because it is riddled with weaknesses.