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.
Best reason I've seen to switch to Mac
- Thread starter alfmil
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Damn that is MAD crazy scary!
Definately the best reason to switch! I got sick reading that I couldn't finish it.
Definately the best reason to switch! I got sick reading that I couldn't finish it.
Framed for child porn -- by a PC virus
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/AP-IM...7.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=1&asset=&ccode=
It could also be used to frame you as a terrorist. Then you wouldn't even get to spend your life savings trying to defend yourself - because you'd be stuck in Gitmo or Bagram indefinitely.
All it takes it for somebody to accuse you of something. Red Scare all over. Only this time it's rapist, pedophile, terrorist, etc etc.
Yeah, that is a very scary thing to have happen. Obviously, viruses, worms, malware are bad, but this one is just evil.
Wasn't there a story about a teacher being fired, when malware on her machine threw up a sex site advert in the middle of a class?
I think malware is crossing the threshold from 'very annoying' to 'very dangerous'.
(I'd also avoid ever having an open Wifi network, for the same reasons).
I think malware is crossing the threshold from 'very annoying' to 'very dangerous'.
(I'd also avoid ever having an open Wifi network, for the same reasons).
william sire
macrumors regular
11 months of hell. And if he had a Mac, nothing. Well... realistically there were far too many problems outside of the computer here had. Nonetheless Im glad I have a Mac.
They were lucky. At least they had the money to afford a defense. A good number of people in this country would be somebody's bitch in prison--simply because they could only afford the court appointed attorney.
Switching to a Mac won't safe you. At least not in all cases.
The article clearly describes an example of somebody who surfed to a warez site that after a certain period of time begins connecting to porn sites. And this can be also be used against you when you use a Macintosh web browser.
Recent studies claim that Firefox and Safari are much more insecure than Internet Explorer 8, which, as the Mozilla Foundation says, in part is based upon the fact that the source code of the core engines of Firefox and Safari is open and free to read for anybody who is looking for security holes to exploit. And unlike OS X, Firefox has reached a significant enough market share that makes it an attractive target.
Now simply do the math: Darwin, the Open Source foundation of OS X, is also open for everyone to read and analyze.
You shouldn't feel too safe just because you use a Mac.
PS: Above information is based upon an article from the German Heise website. If you are capable of understanding German, just visit www.heise.de and read it up. You'll probably find enough English information about that topic somewhere else on the net.
The article clearly describes an example of somebody who surfed to a warez site that after a certain period of time begins connecting to porn sites. And this can be also be used against you when you use a Macintosh web browser.
Recent studies claim that Firefox and Safari are much more insecure than Internet Explorer 8, which, as the Mozilla Foundation says, in part is based upon the fact that the source code of the core engines of Firefox and Safari is open and free to read for anybody who is looking for security holes to exploit. And unlike OS X, Firefox has reached a significant enough market share that makes it an attractive target.
Now simply do the math: Darwin, the Open Source foundation of OS X, is also open for everyone to read and analyze.
You shouldn't feel too safe just because you use a Mac.
PS: Above information is based upon an article from the German Heise website. If you are capable of understanding German, just visit www.heise.de and read it up. You'll probably find enough English information about that topic somewhere else on the net.
OK, I'll do the math.
For every person scouring the code looking for an exploit to take advantage of, there are even more people scouring the code looking for bugs to fix.
Anyone trying to insert a "back door" or other vulnerability into the code base will be met with a "Hey, just what are you trying to pull, here?" by everyone who can see exactly what they're trying to pull.
If an exploit does occur, thousands of people all over the globe can instantly pounce on the freely-available source code, working in parallel (or in competition) to find the vulnerability in the code and fix it. Once disseminated, you could fix the bug yourself (if it was so serious you couldn't wait for the official patch) since you have access to the source code too.
(As opposed to a traditional software company, where if someone finds a bug in our code, the problem report is raised and left in the hands of a single team or maybe even a single programmer -- like me -- and he'll get to it "as soon as he can".)
Edit: I'm not saying we don't need to be careful. Just that open source software is not necessarily more "dangerous" than not.
Though not via a virus, Mac users can certainly get framed. Sharing enabled, an open FTP server, open SSH... there are a number of ways. Just the other day I noticed a server I run had open read/write AFP folders on a mountable share. ANYONE could have put ANYTHING there. Of course I checked every server that same night.
Unfortunately, there are any number of ways a Mac user could get in trouble. If your home Wifi network isn't protected, or is protected but easily hacked (the #1 selling iPhone app in the Irish App Store at the moment: an app to help you crack the passwords on Wifi routers).
I had a problem a couple of years ago, where a 3rd party VNC server would stay running even when the GUI said it was off.. the first I realised it was happening was when I was standing by my desk and suddenly noticed the cursor moving and starting to open folders on the desktop..
Be careful out there, Macs are not immune.
I had a problem a couple of years ago, where a 3rd party VNC server would stay running even when the GUI said it was off.. the first I realised it was happening was when I was standing by my desk and suddenly noticed the cursor moving and starting to open folders on the desktop..
Be careful out there, Macs are not immune.
Oh yes. I work in a corporate Windows environment. Viruses are job security for me.
But hey, if you do get framed, just blame your cat.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/07/man_blames_cat/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/07/man_blames_cat/
pretty obvious in these cases that the computer user was probably already surfing for porn and clicked on various idiotic links that got their computer infected. viruses don't just magically appear on a computer. 99% of the time it is the users fault.