Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
do i have a virus
- Thread starter davegreb
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Tallest Skil
macrumors P6
Tallest Skil
macrumors P6
the bogus scans are written for windows and do nothing on a Mac. They try to sell you useless programs that do nothing and often include viruses themselves. don't worry about it. If you remember the website that you were on, it's one to avoid.
Thats not quite true is it??
I thought that there are viruses for OS X, there just aren't many because most people who create viruses want to attack the masses, therefore creating the vast majority for windows
avihappy
macrumors 6502
That is true and there are a few small trojans out for the Mac (however they cannot install themselves automatically, you have to run them first), but there is not one legitimate Antivirus vendor that will advertise to you by displaying a random popup ad telling you that you have a virus.
Tallest Skil
macrumors P6
r.j.s
Moderator emeritus
Actually, it is. There is not one self-replicating virus live in the wild.
There are a few trojans, but in order for them to work, you must cough up your admin password.
What if you don't have a password? The admin window would still pop up asking you to confirm, right?
r.j.s
Moderator emeritus
What the others are saying basically. If you had been on a Windows machine then yes, you would likely have downloaded some form of malware had you run the fake scan. Thankfully crap like this doesn't execute on Mac OS (or Linux) so you're safe.
If you're paranoid (and you should be on the internet to be honest) then I'd consider using Firefox and getting the Adblock+ addon. (I'm presuming you use Safari). Adblock+ basically stops adverts from loading on the websites you visit; websites will load faster, and you don't run the risk of downloading malware from bogus adverts (which, aside from dodgy e-mail attachments, is where most of today's viruses come from).
r.j.s
Moderator emeritus
Often, on Windows, you don't even need to do that. It will go ahead and download the virus/adware/crapware/malware all on its own.
avihappy
macrumors 6502
Actually, despite the common perception, self installing malware has become less of an issue on windows (especially with Vista). Though the main security hole now is the fact that the users develops a tendency to mindlessly click "Allow" in the UAC prompts. And no, I'm not an Windows fanboy, I still hate it because it is bad to me in other ways and I avoid it when I can.