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To all you who say macs can't/don't get viruses


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But then you have to think of all the exploits and viruses there are for windows. It's common sense not to download random things off the internet, especially when you don't know who had them or could of binded something to them before hand. It's all operator error.

 

Malware doesn't only come from downloading random stuff off the Internet. That's a common misconception that leads to mass infection. :)

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But then you have to think of all the exploits and viruses there are for windows. It's common sense not to download random things off the internet, especially when you don't know who had them or could of binded something to them before hand. It's all operator error.

Yes, there are more expoits on Windows, because it's had much more attempts to be attacked over the years. But that isn't relevant to this thread. This thread is about Macs being vulnerable to attacks, which is becoming more common. Bringing a Windows vs Mac flaming war into it will only lead to this thread being locked.

 

As SpikeTheLobster said, downloading from the Internet is only one way of getting malware/viruses.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Yes, I do know that there are Mac viruses out there, I am just not aware of what they specifically do. I'm more concerned about my Bootcamp partition, and do not want to get a virus there. I do not run any anti-virus on my Mac, just to save money.

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Yes, I do know that there are Mac viruses out there, I am just not aware of what they specifically do. I'm more concerned about my Bootcamp partition, and do not want to get a virus there. I do not run any anti-virus on my Mac, just to save money.

Sophos Anti-virus for Mac is free.

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I noticed my mac has been slower then usual (i get the loading spindle at times for just browsing the web)

 

It's an older machine, using a dual core processor, 4GB (maxed out i'm afraid) so it could just be that the machine itself is getting old and it's time for an upgrade....but i'm gonna check out Sophos Anti-virus for Mac and try it out.....

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Amazes me the people who think Macs are more secure than windows PCs, and same with the linux crowd when its simply not the case. The reality is windows is simply more targeted.

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Amazes me the people who think Macs are more secure than windows PCs, and same with the linux crowd when its simply not the case. The reality is windows is simply more targeted.

Exactly, Due to the large amount of users on it. Now they have noticed a large influx going to mac and the viruses start for that aswell. All it takes is one successful hacker to spark more.

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Exactly, Due to the large amount of users on it. Now they have noticed a large influx going to mac and the viruses start for that aswell. All it takes is one successful hacker to spark more.

 

Would love to know where that large influx is LOL.

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

Hipsters.... Hipsters everywhere :D

According to you, I joined the hipster crowd a few years ago... XD

 

I'd prefer not to think of myself as a hipster, more as someone who wants an OS that doesn't crash every 5 minutes on 5 year old computers.

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I've tried to tell people for years that the ONLY reason you don't hear much about MAC viruses is because not many people USE the Mac. That's the simple fact of it all. Not because it "can't"

That's your opinion, it's not a fact.

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I still feel much safer on a Mac than I will ever on Windows. I never run antivirus or anything like that on it. But on Windows I have several

While the first part of your statement I don't disagree with, the latter I do. You never run an anti-virus for your Mac? Maybe you should start doing, as they're becoming more common, and you won't know whether you're infected or not otherwise. Also, you shouldn't use multiple anti-viruses on one computer, as they may conflict with each other. 1x anti-virus, 1x firewall (Windows' built in one is good enough from Vista onwards) and 1x anti-malware/spyware should be all you need.

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While the first part of your statement I don't disagree with, the latter I do. You never run an anti-virus for your Mac? Maybe you should start doing, as they're becoming more common, and you won't know whether you're infected or not otherwise. Also, you shouldn't use multiple anti-viruses on one computer, as they may conflict with each other. 1x anti-virus, 1x firewall (Windows' built in one is good enough from Vista onwards) and 1x anti-malware/spyware should be all you need.

Linux is my main OS, I used to have a Mac, and I always have Windows. I've only ever gotten a virus on Windows, while using an anti-virus/spyware. I try to avoid Windows now.

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No OS is secure, just as no browser is secure. They were all created by humans and will, in fact, have bugs/errors. Some get patched up faster than others yes this is true, it is also true that some are carefully checked before release to make sure that these bugs/errors are the least but there will always be a small chance of vulnerability. Nothing is ever 100% secure no matter how much you try.

 

As said before on this thread, it is usually believed that the reason that it was a common belief that Mac OS and Linux were virus free is because it was not used as much, this might be true to some extent, I've been to Security Expos where this point has, in fact, been brought up.

 

There are vulnerabilities for all the operating systems, be its a virus, hack, or any other malware.

 

For Linux there are some root kits, that just jump on the machine because the user, believing that he/she is safe doesn't take the necessary precautions to avoid getting this on their system, there's been findings on malware creating backdoors in Linux systems and in Mac OS systems. Also there been some worms & virus for them, not many, because there are not as many created for them as there is for Windows which is easier to exploit and target.

 

Now I'm not saying that Mac OS is as insecure as Windows might be, I am a Mac user and a Windows user. It is true that Mac is more secure but with a little help from the user to tighten that security it would be better, same goes with Linux. They may be harder to create a malware for, but where there's a will there's a way, and there's people out there who know that most Mac users don't have an antivirus or are taking precautions with their systems so they will try to take advantage of this and I'm pretty sure someone out there is paying good money to have those people write malware for non-windows systems.

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  • 1 year later...

I have always felt that the more popular Mac got, the more viruses would start showing up for Mac. The only reason Macs tended not to get viruses is because they weren't nearly as popular as Windows up until fairly recently. Now that more and more people are using them, I think more and more viruses will be able to target them.

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  • 4 months later...

Trust me everything can get a virus. Even phones people have done for them viruses and malwares! I used to beleive Mac can't get a virus but then I read about that there are keyloggers made just for Viruses that were filled in thepiratebay. Since then I just stopped using any torrent website, because Mac costs a lot and don't wanna loose it <3

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think this culture we're seeing of people using Macs is just a fad. Wiindows computers are always going to be the industry leader, at least for the coming years. They're easier to use, and generally they're very secure if you're not stupid and don't download stupid amounts of crap.

 

Macs were labelled as "impenetrable", something which anyone with any amount of moderate computer knowledge would know is completely false - nothing at all in the world is impentrable in terms of software, and I mean nothing.

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I agree on friends here that Mac can still be infected or destroyed with virus. Thou, their security measures are secured but there is no guarantee that it is safe and protected. It is always a challenge for a programmer/developer to create a software that is virus free.  In some point the hackers will surely find ways to destroy whatever application is launch. Both are challenging on their own ways.

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