Author Topic: Virus on mac? (Read 2716 times)

ProImage · « **on:** July 19, 2012, 15:18 »

I've seen an increasingly amount of articles about mac computers all of a sudden being subject to threats from hackers, etc. This is just one of many I've read: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/06/widespread-computer-virus-indicates-mac-users-no-longer-safe/
I know a lot of photographers and designers use mac, and I was wondering if any of you have actually experienced this first-hand? I always thought that you couldn't really install anything on mac unless providing an administrator's password, so the installation of a virus should not be possible. However, I recently installed a new browser (RockMelt), and I was not asked for a password during the installation process. I have no idea why or how.

I've looked into possible anti virus software like http://www.intego.com/virusbarrier and other similar things, but I don't want to waste my money, and I definitely do not want a computer that is slowing down too much either.

So... Has anyone experienced getting a virus on their mac? And is their anyone who has first-hand knowledge of some of the various anti-vira mac software?

cathyslife · « **Reply #1 on:** July 19, 2012, 15:41 »

I have not had a virus on any of the Macs I have owned since the 90s. There was the Flashback Trojan just a couple of weeks ago, but testing sites came out promptly where one could test their Mac and fix it if it was infected. Also, Apple updated their OS in response, too. Other than that...nothing. I am using a freebie virus scanner right now, ClamXAV. Not sure how robust it is.

jm · « **Reply #2 on:** July 19, 2012, 15:57 »

I've never heard of any any other virus except mentioned Trojan (plus some rumours about viruses on Macs with installed Windows). I have VirusBarrier (free version) installed - it scans computer for hours but never found any problem.

RacePhoto · « **Reply #3 on:** July 20, 2012, 00:03 »

When Apple only had 5% of the world market (which was up until the last few years) the people who write trojans and worms didn't bother. That's one big reason why they were infected less, not because of the Apple product or OS.

Now that Macs are over 10% of the world market share, they are a big enough target. This isn't just one small flaw, it's a matter of interest for the people who create these problems, steal data, and try to hack into our accounts.

How many viruses do you read about for Ubuntu or Linux?

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Author Topic: Virus on mac? (Read 2716 times)

ProImage

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jm

RacePhoto

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