[Naderfan]

I know it's very rare to get a virus on a mac, but I'm worried I just did. (It's an iBook G4)

I had two pages open on Firefox. One was Facebook, which was in the background, and then I was on another page. Then the Facebook page popped up with a message that basically was the "warning, your computer might not be protected." It had the minimize and maximize options but no way to x out. I hit cancel, which I know was dumb, and the second I did it I knew I shouldn't have. It opened a new page and a status bar on the page start going - something about an antivirus program. I immediately quit Firefox, which is why I don't have more specific information. I kind of freaked out.

Anyway, has anyone heard of this? Should I download ClamXav or some other program to check my computer? I appreciate any help! Again, I'm sorry I don't have more specifics.

[Brad]

I wouldn't worry about it. Those things are usually just JavaScript and animated GIFs put together trying to instill a sense of FUD. If you really want to fire up ClamXav, it couldn't hurt, but I'd put money on that website having not done anything truly harmful to your system.

[Naderfan]

Cool, thanks.

[Swox]

Wouldn't it have to ask for your admin pass to install anything nasty?

[Brad]

Originally Posted by Swox Wouldn't it have to ask for your admin pass to install anything nasty?

Not if it only wants to operate in user space.

[Swox]

Originally Posted by Brad Not if it only wants to operate in user space.

Pardon me ignorance, but what does that mean?

[Mugge]

Originally Posted by Swox Pardon me ignorance, but what does that mean?

That it can only do the things that you can in your user account without giving your admin password.

Those scarewware sites (almost) always target Windows users, but because they use Java scripts, Mac users also get to see their scares. F***ing annoying, but since I started using OpenDNS I haven't seen much off it. The NoScript add-on for Firefox can also kill them, but it's hassle because it want's you to decide what to do with every script it comes across. Which is typically a couple per website.