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Antivirus advice

7on said:
Then get LittleSnitch, it's asks for permission whenever there's port access. "Such and Such is receiving data on port 4242, allow or deny?"
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Does it also do this on privileged ports? If so, that'd be annoying for a web server. 😉 Of course, for desktop use, that's cool.
 
ggjstudios said:
It's configurable, according to your needs and preferences.
http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html
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Thanks for the link, but it appears LittleSnitch only does outgoing connections:

Little Snitch only handles outgoing network connections on all network interfaces (AirPort, PPP, network cards, etc.). It intercepts and defers an application's network access until you decide to allow or deny the request, or it handles the request automatically based on an already defined rule.

Little Snitch does not intercept incoming connections. They can be blocked with the built-in firewall of Mac OS X. This firewall can be configured in System Preferences > Security > Firewall (or in System Preferences > Sharing > Firewall on Max OS X 10.4).
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At any rate, it still means leaving service ports open can leave OS X vulnerable, just like any other machine.
 
I don't care to spread windows viruses around; I would feel irresponsible and generally have a low opinion of those who do.

ClamXav is free and has detected many windows viruses I would have otherwise passed along to others.
 
QuantumLo0p said:
I don't care to spread windows viruses around; I would feel irresponsible and generally have a low opinion of those who do.

ClamXav is free and has detected many windows viruses I would have otherwise passed along to others.
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so you understand the problem then. WINDOWS
 
One needs to have common sense also; don't download such things as 'free' software codecs; they often harbor trojans. A normal user isn't in danger if you follow reasonably safe computing practices. Besides, has anyone ever looked into the Mac A/V programs to see what they actually look for?
 
belvdr said:
It does not have to be a virus. What about a remote attacker? Since OS X uses BSD's ftpd and Apache's httpd, there exists a possibility of unauthorized remote access. There are plenty of exploits found in Apache and ftpd, and this could allow root access to the wrong person.
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Wouldn't that be considered Hacking, not a virus?

Antivirus protection can't prevent hacking as fas as I know.
 
rjphoto said:
Wouldn't that be considered Hacking, not a virus?

Antivirus protection can't prevent hacking as fas as I know.
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I know that. Somewhere above, I was countering the assumptions that OS X is fully secure, as some mentioned passwords are needed and others mention not even needing to run the firewall. This thread is long out of control at this point, so I may have read that wrong.
 
MisterMe said:
MacOS X has been around since 2001. That's nearly eight years and counting without realizing the remote attacker scenario. When do we stop waiting?

Are you really? 🙄
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Evidently you just enjoy coming across that way, I guess. 🙄 Why are you even curious and why doubt it?

At any rate, maybe it is just the fact that hardly anyone hosts on OS X to get a reported vulnerability in network services. You might be able to wait awhile.

Either way, are you going to sit there and tell me that Unix systems are never (and never have been) compromised? Come on, OS X is based on a Unix-type system. It's not invincible. If you believe so, that's fine, but you're living a fantasy.
 
belvdr said:
...

Either way, are you going to sit there and tell me that Unix systems are never (and never have been) compromised? Come on, OS X is based on a Unix-type system. It's not invincible. If you believe so, that's fine, but you're living a fantasy.
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I take it that you are laboring under the misconception that security is stagnant on UNIX-based systems. If so, then you are mistaken.
 
The topic is worthy of a fairly long research (or state of the art) paper, and a thread in a discussion is not enough (unless it is a very long one and someone organizes it like a ... paper!)

When all's said and done, question is, "have we helped the original poster who needed help?"

😉
 
MisterMe said:
I take it that you are laboring under the misconception that security is stagnant on UNIX-based systems. If so, then you are mistaken.
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Not in the least, and not sure how you figure that, but also consider the attacks have heightened as well. The attacks are smarter, and the attackers do not need to be as savvy as they once needed to be. The savvy folks can develop a tool, and the non-savvy folks who just want to use it download it and run it. So now, the userbase for those attacks is larger as well.

There is no networked computer system that is totally secure, otherwise, we would not have a huge computer security industry.
 
BobZune said:
The topic is worthy of a fairly long research (or state of the art) paper, and a thread in a discussion is not enough (unless it is a very long one and someone organizes it like a ... paper!)

When all's said and done, question is, "have we helped the original poster who needed help?"

😉
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Good question. 🙂 I'll stop now.
 
belvdr said:
Let me ask this though. What if you have Apache running or even FTP, and someone exploits those? They can gain root access that way without needing your password or anyone to type one. I've never heard anyone doing that on OS X, probably because most people have it off.
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This subject like others have stated gets dragged up week after week & until theirs 100% proof that a virus is present in the wild i like the majority of Mac users think it is totally pointless to have a AV installed, you think differently thats your choice
 
Neil321 said:
This subject like others have stated gets dragged up week after week & until theirs 100% proof that a virus is present in the wild i like the majority of Mac users think it is totally pointless to have a AV installed, you think differently thats your choice
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Agree with the AV. If you read a bit further back, I was referring to other forms of attacks, which aren't covered by AV.
 
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