Domain: iantivirus.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to iantivirus.com.
Comments · 13
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Re:now
Offhand, I can think of Leap and Macarena.
A quick google search turns up this site which lists a number of viruses as well as other kinds of malware.
Virus shown are zuc, wdef, t4, sevendust, scores, nvir, mdef, mbdf, initM, init9403, init666, init29, init1984, init17, flag, code9811, Code32767, code252, code1, cdef, and anti
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Re:now
There's several for MacOS Classic.
Several Trojans, Worms, etc for OSX. Virus in the classic form? Some proof-of-concepts here and there.
For a blast from the past:
http://ftp.cerias.purdue.edu/pub/tools/mac/mac-virus-list.txt (speaking about Mac viruses from the 1980's)Interesting read on creation of malicious software targeting OSX:
https://www.securelist.com/en/analysis/204791948/Mac_OS_XA list of baddies for MacOS Classic and OSX:
http://www.iantivirus.com/threats/Also interesting:
http://lscr.berkeley.edu/archive/mail/magnet/2004/0418.htmlAnd then there's this:
http://www.forbes.com/2006/02/16/apple-osx-virus-cx_po_0216autofacescan09.htmlThis was amusing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf6_sPkMupAI'm sure there's lots more if I care to dig.
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Re:More damaging for Apple than most think...
http://iantivirus.com/threats/ has a list of some of the OS X/pre OS X era malware.
Not a lot of virii, Trojan.OSX.RSPlug was it for a while. -
Mac security advice
You make a valid point, but Safari seems to auto-open certain "safe" files in the case of this crimeware kit: http://www.securitynewsdaily.com/new-malware-goes-after-mac-users-0747/
However, a huge amount of malware doesn't propagate by someone running an executable - these days it frequently uses exploits in browsers, Flash, PDF readers, etc. Simply visiting an infected website or opening a malicious PDF is enough to execute the malware on your machine. Exploit kits make it easy to set up a website that will try many exploits against the visitor, based on the browser and plugins they are using.
This infection model affects Mac, Windows, Linux, etc. While there are security architecture differences between OSs, the main reason Macs haven't yet got a big malware problem is that they haven't been targetted that much.
From something I wrote earlier - short version is that using Firefox/Chrome and a commercial antivirus on Macs is a good idea:
Here''s a survey of security experts, giving a fairly balanced view: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10444561-245.html - they believe that the Mac is less attacked but less secure than Windows and that Safari is not very secure. Using Firefox or Chrome is probably a better bet on Mac. Chrome - http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/mac/?p=667 - probably more secure than Safari, and it now does have Adblocking, Flash blocking and NotScripts (like NoScript but a bit painful to install.)
See http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_quietly_updates_mac_anti-malware_feature.php for some comments - the OS X actually has malware detection built in, showing that Apple thinks there is something to protect against. Mostly Trojans at present. Here's a list of OS X malware: http://www.iantivirus.com/threats/
ClamXav may be OK, but Clamav, the underlying tool, is generally nowhere near as good as a commercial antivirus based on tests â" see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clam_AntiVirus#Effectiveness for a summary.
On Windows I generally recommend Kaspersky, who have good heuristic / proactive detection of zero days (the average signature AV only detects about 40-60% of in-the-wild threats). They do have a Mac version: http://www.kaspersky.co.uk/kav-mac-latest-versions
Mac reviews mention Intego as good: http://theappleblog.com/2010/02/04/antivirus-software-on-your-mac-yes-or-no/ and http://www.macworld.com/article/51438/2006/06/antivirussw.html (old review but includes ClamXav). Sophos is a reputable tool on Windows, which has a free Mac version: http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2010/11/02/anti-virus-mac-free/
Due to the blended threats that attack first a PC and then your website, and increasing popularity of Macs particularly for web design, it's only a matter of time before a blended threat attacks Mac+websites.
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Re:Macs are still no mans land
Please see list: http://www.iantivirus.com/threats/
Umm okay reading the list I see: proof of concept trojan never in the wild, keylogger, password cracker, five more keyloggers, demo trojan, then a bunch more keyloggers and legitimate remote management apps. Can you be a little more specific as to where on that giant list the in the wild virus is? I searched for "virus" on the page but of the first 20 or 30 results none were viruses, except for a few that applied only to MacOS 6, which predates OS X.
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Re:Props to Apple
>
I'm getting really tired of hearing otherwise educated people tell me that Apple's success is "just" due to marketing.
Problem is, in many ways it really is with fanboi/media misinformation mixed in. I mean, lets be honest here. If you are being told by fanbois and the media (amoungst marketing) that, today, you can buy a laptop that has the longest battery life, isn't able to get a malware of any form, is ranked the highest by companies like Consumer Report, never crashes/has errors, has the highest build quality, lasts for 5+ years and the competition can only last 3 years at best, and is also backup honestly by its company, then why wouldn't you want this amazing, heaven sent object? And this is how people bill Apple products. But its wrong and misinformed to levels of lying.
A MBP is according to Apple supposed to get 8-9 hours battery life (I hear more that its more honestly around 7 hours). Best battery life you can get right? Well, most average laptops get around 6-8 hours battery life in real world settings (most laptops come with NVidia's power swap tech to do this), which give or take, matches the MBP. Asus also released a basic laptop that can get 12 hours of battery life (Asus UL50). And while its specs aren't the best, it would easily allow you to surf the web, watch videos, Facebook, ect... things average people do making it a good choice for most people.
How about OSX can't get malware? I've heard people claim that because of how OSX is made, it is just impossible to do. Here is a list of OSX malware. No OS is immune. As for why you don't hear much about them is a good amount to deal with OSX's usage numbers. Depending where you look, your looking at guesses of 6.4%-9.6% of all computers are OSX. A little less then 1 in 10, so that means less users to mention about the problems, and the media doesn't really care to publish it. Lets be honest, problem X which is only a concern for a little less then 1 in 10 users isn't going to grab much attention and/or sell papers/web ads.
As for getting rave reviews from people like Consumer Reports? They just finished a report stating that the 11 inch Air is the best laptop in the 11 inch category. Wow, a great thing to note that Apple seems to rock that category... too bad it was compared to the Toshiba Satellite, and nothing else. They didn't even try to match it up to something else, just made sure to stack it in Apples favor. Didn't want it to be out done by the Alienwaress m11x because doubt Apple would have won then.
Never crashes or have errors? Go check Apples official forums for examples. Or other unofficial forums, people bring their Macs to the "Genius Bar" in every Apple store. You might notice, yes they do have errors. Not everyone has problems, but same goes for things like Windows. The hard numbers show more problems with Windows, but what percentage of it's users? I'm willing to bet it might be more of an even number. And please, don't pull up some old, badly out of date Windows anything and compare it to a brand new, top of the line Apple anything. Thats just purposely stacking it in Apples favor. Keep them in line. Old Windows anything, match with equal old Apple anything.
Apple has the best built laptops? Squaretrade just did a 3 year study showing that Apple is more honestly in 4th place for build quality, behind Asus, Toshiba and Sony. Study
People also claim that only Apple computers can last and/or run 5 years or more. Many people have computers/laptops running Windows that are that old and older and they still run fine after all this time. Also, many schools and libraries have Windows machines this old that are still running showing that yes, they can too.
As for warranties Apple stands by? Typical 1 year unless you buy the 3 year warranty, same as most companies. Same limits, options, ect... But Apple has also been noted for using sensor
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Re:And the first ones out of the gate will be easy
*cough* sure*cough*
Sounds like you're coming down with something there PC.
Less threats, sure. But far from completely secure.
Please quote where I said Macs are "completely secure".
That list you linked to is bogus. There are no viruses for Mac OS X AT ALL. And there are only a handful of actual trojans/malware, none of which is widespread, and none of which is of the level of concern where a Mac user should feel compelled to run anti-virus/anti-malware software.
If this is your idea of Mac's comeuppance, you're really stretching it.
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Re:And the first ones out of the gate will be easy
*cough* sure*cough*
Less threats, sure. But far from completely secure. -
Re:Adding a 3rd malware to the blacklist is not ne
System per OS X eg.7-8-9 had a very small user base but had lots of malware - no free pass for older Macs.
A *huge* security problem is hard to graft onto the back of Unix.
Microsoft was never caught completely unaware and unprepared, they just spent time, cash and upgrade cycles on usability and networking vs any security.
Great for building market share and entering new markets, not so good for your data.
MS now puts a lot of effort in selling you the idea of security, beyond Win 7 is the real test.
Also recall the 'fuzzing" effort was used by an ex NSA worker, ie it should be quite easy.
If it where easy we would see sites like this listing many many active Mac virus like threats. The count now is 0, just lots of user installed malware and a few per OS X efforts.
http://www.iantivirus.com/threats/ -
Re:MACS???!?!
Number of in the wild FAQ ready, click and load, virus options for Mac OS X - 0
Ex NSA workers with the skill and time to hack a Mac for the WIN - a few
Number of in the wild malware options for Mac OS X that need a user to input their pw - 100's ?
http://www.iantivirus.com/threats/
OS X has all the nice overflows, poor to no memory protection, problems with users ect that most consumer quality OS face.
Just after a set number of years nobody seems to have done much on the Mac in the wild.
Why? Lack of skill, lack of fame, hardware access per hacker, profit or the well coded protection of a Unix like OS?
Linux and Mac have a had a few non rushed, profit crazed, non time limited code reviews done to their basic building blocks over many years.
The only part MS sinks its time and cash into is security marketing. -
Re:Heh
No in the wild easy to find virus for a Mac running OS X at this time.
As for physical access of self install, have a look at
http://www.iantivirus.com/threats/
Nice long list but few are 'I was just surfing the net and ...."
No chatter in forums, irc, slashdot ect.
So someone must be keeping Mac hack sites very much as a needs to know or the spooks want people to trust Macs ;) -
Re:Not News!!
Yeah? Can you point to ONE virus in the wild that has ever bitten any Mac or Linux user? Trojans don't count. Install Linux on your Windows box and you do NOT need any antivirus (unless you boot into the Windows side), provided you're not stupid enough to run an executable from an untrusted source.
Hmm, ever bitten any.... how about this list?
http://www.iantivirus.com/threats/index/query/V/
While you didn't specify that it must be a new virus, these are all viruses that infect Mac machines. Do they still work? No, of course not, but that's not what you claimed. If Microsoft ever dumped backwards compatibility then, assuming they'd adopt a more Unix like approach to security, we'd all be better off. That will not happen any time soon though, so I won't hold my breath.
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Re:Are there any Mac Viruses?
Did you buy that 5-digit Slashdot ID?
Sure there are. A LOT fewer but there have always been some out there.Only reason that there aren't that many is low market share. Writing viruses for Windows is more cost effective.