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Is MacOS X really immune to viruses? What about in the future?


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Is MacOS X really immune to viruses? What about in the future?
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BlueApple
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Join Date: Jun 2006
 
2006-09-03, 05:31

Is MacOS X really immune to viruses? I know most of the viruses today are target to Windows systems, but what about in the future? When MacOS X gets more popular, can MacOS X still immune to viruses? Or is it much harder for a virus to work on MacOS X because of the UNIX core underneath?
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Mugge
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
 
2006-09-03, 06:03

Short answer: Yes.

Not 100% accurate, cause in theory nothing can be 100% secure. But I'm pretty sure we would hear about it here at AN if anything came up. And don't pay any attention to the so called "pundits". My experience is that they are more interested in getting hits for their web-sites, rather than contributing any remotely useful information.

The same goes for the foreseeable future.
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LudwigVan
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
 
2006-09-03, 08:04

Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueApple View Post
Is MacOS X really immune to viruses?
As Mugge wrote, there is no such thing as an operating system being 100% virus (trojan, worm, etc.) immune.

Quote:
I know most of the viruses today are target to Windows systems, but what about in the future?
Never say never. As with all things, they will come to pass. Someday, there will be a virus affecting MacOS X.

Quote:
When MacOS X gets more popular, can MacOS X still immune to viruses?
Perhaps, but popularity may or may not be a factor with the emergence of the virus. If fame were the sole criterion, Paris Hilton would be a walking disease.

Er. Bad example.

Quote:
Or is it much harder for a virus to work on MacOS X because of the UNIX core underneath?
That may be part of it, since that base is by its very nature more secure. There's also the Mac part built on top of the UNIX foundation to consider.

"Virtually bursting with adequatulence."
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BarracksSi
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Washington, DC
 
2006-09-03, 09:05

Popularity, shmopularity -- virus writers have tried.
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chucker
 
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2006-09-03, 09:12

The lack of popularity can, in fact, be an incentive. It makes the target a lot more interesting.
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julesstoop
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Join Date: Oct 2004
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2006-09-03, 09:30

I remember that from my high school years indeed.
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dfiler
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Join Date: May 2004
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2006-09-03, 10:59

Quote:
Originally Posted by chucker View Post
The lack of popularity can, in fact, be an incentive. It makes the target a lot more interesting.
This is the point I always harp on as well.

Why do virus writers write viruses? It is mostly for bragging rights. Bragging rights are mostly about how many computers you can infect. But this is a means to an end. The real goal is to do something noteworthy, to write a famous virus.

But at this point, the biggest bragging right of all would be to write the first OS X virus. No one cares if you write another windows virus. That type of work and virus would get lost amongst the tens of thousands of other windows viruses.

If you write a Mac OS X virus, you're guaranteed a spot on the evening news. You'll even make CNN. Make no mistake about it, the Mac is not secure from obscurity. Right now, a Mac virus is the quickest way to underground fame for any aspiring virus writer.
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m3030306
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Seoul, South Korea
 
2006-09-03, 11:30

Quote:
Originally Posted by dfiler View Post
This is the point I always harp on as well.

Why do virus writers write viruses? It is mostly for bragging rights. Bragging rights are mostly about how many computers you can infect. But this is a means to an end. The real goal is to do something noteworthy, to write a famous virus.

But at this point, the biggest bragging right of all would be to write the first OS X virus. No one cares if you write another windows virus. That type of work and virus would get lost amongst the tens of thousands of other windows viruses.

If you write a Mac OS X virus, you're guaranteed a spot on the evening news. You'll even make CNN. Make no mistake about it, the Mac is not secure from obscurity. Right now, a Mac virus is the quickest way to underground fame for any aspiring virus writer.
as that may be, but i suppose geniuses out there are trying (maybe harder)
but, i guess they dont find a way to penetrate the system.
I think they've been trying to write viruses for mac from the beginning, just they didnt succeed too much.
well, that what i think
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BarracksSi
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2006-09-03, 13:01

Quote:
Originally Posted by m3030306 View Post
as that may be, but i suppose geniuses out there are trying (maybe harder)
Yes, they are.

The closest thing to malware that has been out so far was a trojan disguised as a pirated Office downloader. Click on it and it'll erase the Home folder. However, it was NOT able to install itself into the System (meaning that, apart from the user's personal files being gone, the rest of the computer was unaffected in any way), and it did NOT self-propagate and send itself to everyone in the user's address book or across a network. Really quite useless in terms of malware.

There have been two contests that I know of offering rewards for successfully cracking into OSX. The more recent of the two was canceled because of concerns about the ethics of willfully creating a possible security breach. The earlier contest had no winners, even after publishing the Mac's IP address and receiving hack attempts from the likes of the CIA, and dissolved on its own.

A recent claim of hacking through a Mac's wireless software was summarily dismissed as false when the people involved revealed that they were using third-party wireless drivers.

People have tried; nobody has succeeded.
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chucker
 
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2006-09-03, 13:10

Quote:
Originally Posted by BarracksSi View Post
A recent claim of hacking through a Mac's wireless software was summarily dismissed as false when the people involved revealed that they were using third-party wireless drivers.
Actually, that story isn't entirely cleared up just yet.
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BarracksSi
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2006-09-03, 13:12

Ah. I thought it was, when the guys claiming to make the hack admitted to altering the software. I expect to hear otherwise when the finally decide what happened & what's possible.
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LudwigVan
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Join Date: May 2004
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2006-09-03, 13:29

I found it interesting that CARS has taken on a rather serious tone commenting on this whole Wi-Fi security issue as of late. But not totally serious since they name this affair "Security Bitch Watch."

Here are the more significant CARS posts in chronological order:

"Virtually bursting with adequatulence."
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BuonRotto
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2006-09-03, 13:31

Mac OS X isn't totally immune to viruses, though it's tougher and would likely be a lot less "successful" in terms of its spread.

However, the most important thing to remember is: NO system is foolproof! No system is safe from mistakes or human error; that will never change. Therefore, every system is susceptible to one degree or another. The computer can't save you from yourself, though some try!
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Kickaha
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Join Date: May 2004
 
2006-09-03, 14:30

True. A good way to think about is like this:

MacOS X is a normal, healthy, robust human being. They *can* get deathly ill out of nowhere, but it's incredibly rare, and simply doing small things like washing your hands and using some basic level of common sense (don't eat green chicken) keeps you safe.

Windows has had its immune system destroyed, and has to live in a bubble. The slightest exposure to everyday life will likely be fatal, or at the least, will require major intervention.

So while we don't have to take the insane precautions that Windows users do, we *do* have to have the minimum amount of common sense that one uses with keeping ones' self healthy from exposure to viruses, bacteria, and the like. Just as you wouldn't just pick something random up off the street and eat it, you probably shouldn't download random files or apps and open them.

But we don't have to live in a bubble.
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almost2mac
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Join Date: Jul 2006
 
2006-09-04, 17:07

The one major thing that seems to help is that OSX will not install anything without an administrator password. Windows unless configured properly is often more than not happy to install plugins and software willy-nilly.

I'm not clear on this, but most software seems to have to "mount" on the desktop like a disk before it will install...dont' know if this has anything to do with it or if I have that right.
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Kickaha
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Join Date: May 2004
 
2006-09-04, 23:06

Nope. Anyone can mount a disk image (a file ending in .dmg that, when opened, creates a 'virtual disk' just as if you had plugged one in), but installing anything into anywhere but your own user space requires an administrator password.
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LiquidSpace
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2006-09-05, 09:34

i don't think the new commercials that flaunt are low infection rate are going to help any. Its kinda like putting a big target on your rump imo.
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Banana
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Join Date: Feb 2005
 
2006-09-05, 09:38

What?

I'd rather that a system be tried and tested.

Security through obscurity isn't security at all, and Apple wants to debunk on it. So I'm all for putting their money on the line.
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BarracksSi
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2006-09-05, 10:56

Quote:
Originally Posted by LiquidSpace View Post
i don't think the new commercials that flaunt are low infection rate are going to help any. Its kinda like putting a big target on your rump imo.
Apart from the "new commercials" phrase, you could've written that post six years ago.

Anybody who knows anything about writing malware also knows that OS X's security hasn't been successfully cracked yet. They've known this for far, far longer than these new commercials have been around.
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