[design219]

I started wondering about this when reading some of the interesting responses to this computer problem. One guy said "Yet no one knows of anyone that has gotten any viruses or malware using OS X since it’s existence." That statement really got me to wondering.

We run 5 Macs and one PC in our studio. We rarely use the PC, and only for testing websites, yet we have a couple of subscription programs to keep it virus free. We do nothing at all to our Macs, except run the security updates as soon as they are released. To my knowledge, we have NEVER had a virus, malware or other annoyances on the Macs. The same is true of my home Mac.

How about you?

[moonmonkey]

No one here has has a mac virus either, its just not an issue at the moment.

[sek929]

Never seen a Mac virus, period. I know they exist...but I ain't seen em.

[ghporter]

There has been malware that affected Macs in the not-too-distant past. Before Tiger came out, a download that was supposed to be a "screen shot of the net Tiger desktop" (IIRC) was actually malware. But you had to actually click it, and give your password to let it do anything. So there IS a history of malware. But viruses the way Windows suffers from them? Nope. The two operating systems are just too different, built on two radically different models, and with such different ways of doing so many things that viruses for OS X are highly unlikely to ever exist.

Now...let's theorize that there is some sort of hole in OS X that someone discovers before Apple patches it (Apple's security patches tend to be almost entirely proactive). It would have to work very differently from a Windows virus, and that would probably make it a different class of malware. So while the result may be the same, the mechanism would be so different that it would need a new name. But it would still be malware and still be a problem. See the difference? OS X is NOT proof against malware. It's just very robust and not bothered by the kinds of approaches that work with Windows.

[Salty]

I once got Microsoft office on my computer... but I deleted it

Seriously though there's been one fake Tiger image, one iChat thing that required you to type in your password, and one porn site hawking a fake plugin. That's it as far as I know.

[adamfishercox]

The only way to get viruses is to download it, click "Open," possibly Install, which again requires your password.

It's pretty easy not to get one.

[CharlesS]

If you use Office 2004 or below, you supposedly can get macro viruses embedded in Word or Excel docs.

Of course, Office 2008 infamously doesn't support VBA scripts, so if you're running 2008 you shouldn't be able to get those either.

[finboy]

Originally Posted by CharlesS 

If you use Office 2004 or below, you supposedly can get macro viruses embedded in Word or Excel docs.

Of course, Office 2008 infamously doesn't support VBA scripts, so if you're running 2008 you shouldn't be able to get those either.

My Excel 98 updater was infected, and for the longest time every new install ended up with some viruses along the way. Very frustrating.

[OldManMac]

I've never seen one, and I can't remember the last Mac I sold with anti-virus software, and I've sold thousands over the years.

[turtle777]

Never on OS X.

My last Mac virus was back with OS 8.5, I think.

-t

[mduell]

It depends how narrowly you define virus; the answer is probably no.
But malware has been out there in the past and is certainly possible today. You can write malicious code that doesn't require authorization to run (if nothing else rm -rf ~username) and avenues to get it on the machine (see the recent contest where someone ran arbitrary code on a MacBook Air (to win it and $10k) just by visiting a website in Safari).

As long as you don't do stupid things, you're not likely to be bitten on either platform; I've run both OS X and Windows without antivirus/spyware/etc for years without problems.

[Andrew Stephens]

I see so many Macs running anti virus software. Normally they owners are recent switchers and the shop that sold them the Mac has spotted a way to sell some extra software. A lot of ex PC users seem to feel happiest with a familiar name hence the amount of Norton installs. I always get rid of that straight away.

The last virus I saw on a Mac was back in the days of OS 8.

I had read that the lack of Mac viruses was not really to do with the differences in the OS, or windows market share but rather that using windows, totally skill less hackers can download virus making "kits" and easily set themselves up as hackorz. To write an OS X virus they would have to actually learn some proper code. This limits Mac virus writers to a much smaller, and probably more mature pool of potential writers.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by finboy 

My Excel 98 updater was infected, and for the longest time every new install ended up with some viruses along the way. Very frustrating.

That's not OS X software, though. Did the infection carry through to v. X and 2004?

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Andrew Stephens 

I had read that the lack of Mac viruses was not really to do with the differences in the OS, or windows market share but rather that using windows, totally skill less hackers can download virus making "kits" and easily set themselves up as hackorz. To write an OS X virus they would have to actually learn some proper code. This limits Mac virus writers to a much smaller, and probably more mature pool of potential writers.

How does what you describe NOT come down to "differences in the OS"?

If security is a fundamental aspect of OS X's system structure, and this makes script-building kits impossible, relegating exploits to real experts (who are not unlikely making real money discovering AND FIXING security holes), that has EVERYTHING to do with "differences in the OS"!


The only explanation that DOESN'T have to do with system architecture is the argument of lesser distribution, but that doesn't work either, since pretty much the entire network architecture of OS X is shared with the *BSD systems, and much of it with most Linux distros, which together account for a very high market share. Apart from that both the *BSD and OS X systems share a reputation for being extremely secure, which makes them very high-profile targets.

Any twelve-year-old script kiddie can hack a Windows box.

[red rocket]

Originally Posted by Andrew Stephens

I see so many Macs running anti virus software.

I was under the impression that the only legitimate reason to run anti virus software on Macs would be that, whilst immune, the Mac can still act as a carrier and distribute viruses amongst Windows machines.

Personally, I don’t think the onus should be on the Mac owner to protect Windows PCs, but does anybody still think this is a valid reason for selling AV software to Mac users?

[Goldfinger]

Heh, I once had a virus that would make my menus go blank. Was on OS8 IIRC.

[ghporter]

I run antivirus on my Macs because I am required to in order to connect to my school's network. Otherwise I would probably not do so. I should point out that I used to be a computer security officer over a fairly large PC shop (hundreds and hundreds of machines) and would NEVER consider not using AV software for even a second on a PC. Until I see some mechanism for infecting a Mac that doesn't require active user participation, I'll still consider Mac AV software to be unnecessary for protecting the Mac.

[rogermugs]

i saw a virus once... i was not impressed... lemme tell you... not impressed at all.

it was really small.... "like ---><---- this big... maybe a little bit bigger... i dont know"

[SirCastor]

Last I heard of a Mac Virus was a qt Worm that was accidentally carried on a MacAddict disc (Whoops!)

[imitchellg5]

I have one. It's called Office 2008

[Wiskedjak]

Never had a virus on my Mac.
Never had a virus on my unprotected Windows PC either, for that matter.

[rogermugs]

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

I have one. It's called Office 2008

i haven't heard of this... is it a trojan? What kind of a morooon installs a trojan on their computer willingly?

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by rogermugs 

i haven't heard of this... is it a trojan? What kind of a morooon installs a trojan on their computer willingly?

It's a joke. Office 2008 puts the "bloat" in "bloatware", and while it's supposedly native Intel code, it just ain't "Snappy®".

[OwlBoy]

I find it funny when people come to me with problems with their Mac and tell me they think they have a virus. And I try to tell them there ain't any yet. And they don't understand how that can be. I normally tell them about how it would be all over the news if a big Mac virus hit. Like, the real national news.

-Owl

[turtle777]

The Newton Virus

YouTube - Newton Virus - Art virus for Mac



-t

[osiris]

Originally Posted by rogermugs 

i haven't heard of this... is it a trojan? What kind of a morooon installs a trojan on their computer willingly?

Many corporate offices mandate that all employees install Trojan 2008 as part of the office workflow.

Frankly, the program stinks and is more than bloatware - it is Suckyware©.
rant.. Office 2008 has way to many background apps running, even when selections like "Turn off auto-update" are selected, and has a ghastly sizable memory footprint.

[rogermugs]

Originally Posted by osiris 

Many corporate offices mandate that all employees install Trojan 2008 as part of the office workflow.

Frankly, the program stinks and is more than bloatware - it is Suckyware©.
rant.. Office 2008 has way to many background apps running, even when selections like "Turn off auto-update" are selected, and has a ghastly sizable memory footprint.

if i worked for that company i would quit!

[olePigeon]

No real "Mac" viruses, but lots of Word Macro viruses that trickle in from Windows and cause havoc on Word and Excel documents. It's just really annoying. All it does is turn all the documents into Read Only, and you can't save anything even after creating a new document.

[turtle777]

Hoorah. We have a winner.

Voicebox

-t

[Eug]

Heh. The amusing part is that he is basically admitting to all of us that he got it from a pr0n site.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Heh. The amusing part is that he is basically admitting to all of us that he got it from a pr0n site.

Yeah, I didn't want to tell him straight to his face, but yeah, pretty much so

-t

[finboy]

Originally Posted by analogika 

That's not OS X software, though. Did the infection carry through to v. X and 2004?

No, but it was an issue in Classic (when I was running Excel 98). Sorry for the confusion.

[osiris]

Here's a good virus (it's a joke)


you have to see it in action:
Troika | art and design studio | london | art virus

[turtle777]

*snicker*

-t

[Eug]

Originally Posted by osiris 

Here's a good virus (it's a joke)


you have to see it in action:
Troika | art and design studio | london | art virus

That would be an awesome screensaver.