Thread: The tide is turning?

Originally Posted by Captain_Rightfoot

Here we go again.

Name the malware. Go on! What exactly are the threats to my iphone? There has never been a mac os X virus that has been able to exists and replicate in the wild. Give me an example of one!

Apple can't win with you guys. They lock it down and you all complain... people jailbreak them to make have more control and you complain...

All right I'll start by saying I like Apple products, they are well built, look great, and work out of the box... which can be a nice change when working in the IT industry

OK there have been viruses/malware/trojans for Apples and OSX in the past , there has been:

Opener - Which disabled the builtin OSX firewall
Inqtana worm - Which infected the Bluetooth
RSPlug Trojan - Which would redirect your computer to phishing sites.
iBotNet - botnet software than infects your computer allowing other to execute code on it

And there are more.

What you need to understand is that exploting computers these days is rearly done as a means of exploration and curiosity. These days exploiting and manipulating computers is a multi billion dollar business and it is not viable for the people making money through the viruses investing there money in building exploits for a minority of computer users. It is more financially viable to code viruses and the such for windows as it will reach more people and hopefully get more effect and generate income. I dont endorse this as a viable career but this is how virus creators think it now a business to them.

Saying this as Apple computers get a greater market share this will cause the platform to get more attention from virus/malware writers.

Also you need to not only protect your Mac from viruses that affect OSX but also any 3rd party software that you have on the site as this may have viruses/trojans that could affect these applications.

I would say even thought there are few viruses out there I still have a 3rd party firewall, Anti Virus/malware and Anti Spam siftware on all the Apple computers I manage.

Just quickly on the iPhone thre have been som serious issues with the iPhone with people being able to take control of it via the wifi or a website you visit in safari, there was also a flaw that allowed people to send code to the iPhone as an SMS and it would execute it when it was recieved by the phone. All of the attacks so far allowed people to access the wealth of information that the phone stores about you on it. It also allowed the attacker to access and down load all of the pictures of your screen that the phone takes everytime you minimize an application by hitting the button at the bottom of the iPhone. NEVER do you banking on an iPhone.

Any way to summarize there are issues with Apple products security wise, but Apple do release patched quickly when they find out about them.

Dale

hahaaa myth busted...

rightfoot - if your hoping the tide will turn dont get to attached to your i-****s, because if macs take majority you will be surrounded by rotten apples with worms!

If Apple stuff is so good then why is my iPod broken?

It keeps on resetting the drive in an endless loop. That is the screen shows the Apple logo and it gives a little buzz. Then the screen goes blank and it does it all over again.

Does anybody know the fix?

Originally Posted by manic

hahaaa myth busted...

rightfoot - if your hoping the tide will turn dont get to attached to your i-****s, because if macs take majority you will be surrounded by rotten apples with worms!

Just curious, do you own a Land Rover?

Originally Posted by BigJon

If Apple stuff is so good then why is my iPod broken?

It keeps on resetting the drive in an endless loop. That is the screen shows the Apple logo and it gives a little buzz. Then the screen goes blank and it does it all over again.

Does anybody know the fix?

Could need resetting - do a search as it depends on the model what the process is. Usually something like hold a button and turn on. But it could also be a hard drive problem.

Originally Posted by manic

Yeah lets all join the I-Fad! I really want a white, flash, dressed up PC thats been dumbed down for its users!

No fad. Apple have been on the i-system path for over ten years now. It has clearly been a stroke of marketing genius realising that most consumers get hopelessly blockaded by their Windows systems. What we're seeing now is just the crest of a wave that's been building since the introduction of the first iMac in 1998.

I work on a PC and am constantly amazed by the degree of difficulty performing tasks that should just work. I have scores of house-keeping tasks that I know no home user would undertake, just to keep my system running somewhat smoothly.

My wife is on Mac and thank GOD for that. I only have to worry about maintaining my system, not hers. The only thing that makes operating my PC tolerable is that once you've cracked a problem once, it is less trouble to fix it next time. I also rotate most of the internal components every year so at any given time none of the system (other than the box and peripherals) is more than 2 years old. This year it's memory, hard disks & OS.

Q. How many Apple or Window users leave their machines with a default installation?

A. Probably none.

Herein lies the issue with ANY OS. Out of the box they can be very good, but when people tinker with them they expose themselves to risks. Jailbroken iPhones are a great case in point.

Additionally, allowing root login via ssh or even enabling the root account rather than using sudo (or whatever Macs use) make the whole system vulnerable to attack. How many of you that have done this monitor connection attempts via ssh, report unsuccessful connections or do anything to prevent someone from brute forcing your root password?

Why do people do it? Convenience. But the process circumvents the whole efforts of the OS makers.

Apple hate Flash because of crappy security, yet how many of you Mac users have Flash installed so you can watch Youtube vids? Probably all of you. Same with me on my PC. It's a crap application, but it's the only one that does what I want.

Windows 7 is a step up from XP in terms of it's security model, but I allow certain applications to rus an admin so they don't pester me.

The security of your system is wholy dependent on how you use it. Yes OSX might be better out of the box then Windows, but the stuff people do with it and the applications they install compromise that initial security.

Finally, in regards to Macs usurping Windows across the world they would have to do a lot of work to make their products enterprise friendly before that happens. They don't bind properly to AD and have numerous control and management issues compared to PC's. We've had problems with Exchange connectivity (Entourage functionality) too. The fact of life is that companies aren't going to junk millions in infrastructure costs just to satiate Apple. It'll need to be the other way around before things change to any large degree.

There are also many corporate applications interfaces that just don't have Mac clients. We've just rolled out a new finance system which has no Mac client (not our choice, just the way it is). Apple can't compete with Windows under those terms.

Home and mobile markets are a different story. So good luck to them with that. They'll need it as Google gets serious with Android phones.

Originally Posted by dale

Opener - Which disabled the builtin OSX firewall
Dale

Fixed in 2004. So minor and obscure I could hardly find anything on it other than the usual Microsoft love children saying it will be the start of a wave of viruses that will envelope the mac ...blah blah blah.

Originally Posted by dale

Inqtana worm - Which infected the Bluetooth
Dale

OSX Inwtana.A - Risk Level 1: Very Low

Fixed in 2006. less than 50 computers infected.

Originally Posted by dale

RSPlug Trojan - Which would redirect your computer to phishing sites.
Dale

Less than 50 users affected and fixed in 07. Containment EASY... Removal EASY - Damage level - LOW - distribution level LOW

Originally Posted by dale

iBotNet - botnet software than infects your computer allowing other to
execute code on it
Dale

For people that torrent steal software and install their pirated software... you are stupid and you deserve anything you get. Norton will gladly sell you something to fix this, or try not stealing software.

Are Mac users under attack?
he short answer, no. Users of Macintosh computers continue to have little to fear from viruses, trojans and worms so long as they take reasonable precautions.

Originally Posted by dale

And there are more.
Dale

Bahahaha!! I'm quaking in my boots... LOL.


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdF5IsyOxU4"]YouTube- Get a Mac - Viruses[/ame]