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How come there are no Mac viruses?

GGJstudios said:
7 year old thread resurrection to post nonsense. The poster you quoted specifically said "virus" as opposed to "trojan" or "worm". There has never been a Mac OS X virus in the wild.
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Just because they haven't been wild doesn't mean they haven't been written. They have. As for the "old" thread, the "related posts" thing caught me.

GGJstudios said:
That's not a virus. It's a trojan. You need to educate yourself on the differences.
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I used the popular term, I"m well aware of the differences as I used to do a fair of malcode research professionally. I've also run mailing lists for the Wildlist Organization. FWIW, educate yourself enough to know that Trojan is capitalized if you're going to talk about education and words. :p

Paul
 
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IMO, Microsoft open up its OS to more potential viruses when they instituted the check box "Please Don't Show Me This Again" on the confirmation pop up during a new software install. I'd hazard a guess that the number of people infected by Windows viruses is roughly the same as the number of people who checked that little box the first time it popped up while they were installing their first batch of Windows Updates.

OS X on the other hand, does not make it as simple for the average/casual user to turn off the confirmation/warning when installing new software.

Market share also plays a small role. Whether you hack/infect 1 computer or 1 million computers, the sentencing is the same. It is a felony in the US. So, why would a virus developer rob the bank car instead of the bank? May as well hit the OS that resides in thousands of large corporations with sheep behind every keyboard exclaiming "Oh! Somebody sent me a link to a picture of a puppy!" *click*
 
I read this somewhere else and I thought it was a good point. If we want to accept that OSX is largely ignored due to it's small user base; then it could very well be ignored even more now. Why, where will be the next major attack? iOS, Android, or W8 Mobile. These are MUCH larger bases, and thus more lucrative. Since all three are less mature OS' may contain more easily exploited holes.

iOS has been around for some time now, 5 years. No real malware. But a lot of that is due to it's limited software install. . . . which may be a great thing in the long run. There have been a few personal information issues, but they seem to be mostly worked out now.

Android has already had some malware and I thought some viruses as well. I wouldn't be surprised if things get worse on this front.

Win8 mobile. TBD, although MS hasn't had the best track record of keeping things secure, I'm hoping they've finally got it figured out.

Time will tell though.
 
utahman130 said:
Flashback, anyone?
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And what's your point about the Flashback trojan? The fact that it's not a virus? Or the fact that it was completely avoidable by users practicing safe computing? Or the fact that it was reported to have affected about 1% of the Mac installed base? Or the fact that any Mac running the current version of Mac OS X is completely protected from it?
 
GGJstudios said:
7 year old thread resurrection to post nonsense. The poster you quoted specifically said "virus" as opposed to "trojan" or "worm". There has never been a Mac OS X virus in the wild.

That's not a virus. It's a trojan. You need to educate yourself on the differences.

Macs are not immune to malware, but no true viruses exist in the wild that can run on Mac OS X, and there never have been any since it was released over 10 years ago. The only malware in the wild that can affect Mac OS X is a handful of trojans, which can be easily avoided by practicing safe computing (see below). Also, Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Lion have anti-malware protection built in, further reducing the need for 3rd party antivirus apps.
  1. Make sure your built-in Mac firewall is enabled in System Preferences > Security > Firewall

  2. Uncheck "Open "safe" files after downloading" in Safari > Preferences > General

  3. Disable Java in your browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox). This will protect you from malware that exploits Java in your browser, including the recent Flashback trojan. Leave Java disabled until you visit a trusted site that requires it, then re-enable only for the duration of your visit to that site. (This is not to be confused with JavaScript, which you should leave enabled.)

  4. Change your DNS servers to OpenDNS servers by reading this.

  5. Be careful to only install software from trusted, reputable sites. Never install pirated software. If you're not sure about an app, ask in this forum before installing.

  6. Never let someone else have access to install anything on your Mac.

  7. Don't open files that you receive from unknown or untrusted sources.

  8. For added security, make sure all network, email, financial and other important passwords are long and complex, including upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters.

  9. Always keep your Mac and application software updated. Use Software Update for your Mac software. For other software, it's safer to get updates from the developer's site or from the menu item "Check for updates", rather than installing from any notification window that pops up while you're surfing the web.
That's all you need to do to keep your Mac completely free of any Mac OS X malware that has ever been released into the wild. You don't need any 3rd party software to keep your Mac secure.
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To many, the term virus means any type of thing that is bad on your computer, correct semantics or not. This meaning is what was behind the OP's post I would wager...... Why so condescending?
 
dukebound85 said:
To many, the term virus means any type of thing that is bad on your computer, correct semantics or not. This meaning is what was behind the OP's post I would wager......
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As there were clearly other forms of malware in the wild at the time of the OP's post, it's evident that they meant virus when they said virus.
stockinvestor said:
600 000 OS X machines infected.
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Which works out to around 1% of all Macs that were affected by that trojan.
stockinvestor said:
But that does not it is impossible.
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Agreed. Anything is possible. There were Mac viruses in the wild that affected Mac OS 9 and earlier versions. There simply hasn't been one in the wild that affects Mac OS X, but that doesn't mean it could never happen.
 
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GGJstudios said:
As there were clearly other forms of malware in the wild at the time of the OP's post, it's evident that they meant virus when they said virus.
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No it isn't. Just like people say itouch for an ipod touch or for instance, I have heard safari when talking about OSX on the whole. I could go on with how people don't distinguish things as they should
 
dukebound85 said:
No it isn't. Just like people say itouch for an ipod touch or for instance, I have heard safari when talking about OSX on the whole. I could go on with how people don't distinguish things as they should
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If you read the earlier thread, you'll see that no one corrected the OP by stating that other forms of malware existed at the time. They clearly understood that the OP meant viruses, not trojans or other forms of malware, or they would have corrected the OP. While many may inaccurately use the term virus to refer to any form of malware, not everyone does. This is clearly the case with the original thread when read in context.
 
I like how people say Microsoft may hire people to write viruses for OSX when they're the ones who gave Apple a cash infusion in 1998 to help save the company lol
 
GGJstudios said:
If you read the earlier thread, you'll see that no one corrected the OP by stating that other forms of malware existed at the time. They clearly understood that the OP meant viruses, not trojans or other forms of malware, or they would have corrected the OP. While many may inaccurately use the term virus to refer to any form of malware, not everyone does. This is clearly the case with the original thread when read in context.
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sure thing...:cool:

I digress and think everyone assumed virus meant any type of malware throughout the thread as that is very often the case amongst those not familiar with malware types and even with that mindset, the question and following responses are valid.

If you read the OP, you can clearly see he is one that does not delve into the whole malware field on a dialy basis.
 
Mac Viruses?

WillMak said:
How come noone makes any Mac Specific viruses? I've always wondered why Mac haters or windows people don't make any viruses to target Macs specifically. Wouldn't Gates benefit extremely if he hired a team of people to just unleash Mac viruses everyday?
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To answer your question I would say first that any OS can attract a virus. Having said that, AFAIK makes the task a lot more difficult. I am a developer, and I know that it is possible. Even though Macs are currently out-selling PCs, we at Apple still enjoy the luxury of only having a small share of the worldwide market compared to all the PCs in use. THIS IS A GOOD THING. It simply isn't profitable to waste the time and energy to crack Apple's OS security. Enjoy virus free life for now. By the way, Apples have been attacked in the past.
 
applepackard said:
Even though Macs are currently out-selling PCs, we at Apple still enjoy the luxury of only having a small share of the worldwide market compared to all the PCs in use. THIS IS A GOOD THING. It simply isn't profitable to waste the time and energy to crack Apple's OS security. Enjoy virus free life for now. By the way, Apples have been attacked in the past.
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The market share theory has been debunked countless times. There were viruses in the wild that affected Mac OS 9 and earlier versions, back when Apple's market share and installed base were much smaller than they are now. Now that Macs have a larger market share and installed base, the number of viruses has not increased, but decreased... to zero. The number of trojans and other forms of malware have also decreased as market share has risen. The market share argument is hogwash.
 
Stand Corrected

GGJstudios said:
The market share theory has been debunked countless times. There were viruses in the wild that affected Mac OS 9 and earlier versions, back when Apple's market share and installed base were much smaller than they are now. Now that Macs have a larger market share and installed base, the number of viruses has not increased, but decreased... to zero. The number of trojans and other forms of malware have also decreased as market share has risen. The market share argument is hogwash.
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I was just trying to point out that most things are driven my money and marketshare. Otherwise, what would be the point? You are right however. :apple:
 
compuwar said:
You're wrong, viruses, Trojans and worms for OSX have indeed been written. There was even a Word Macro virus in 2004. I think Most of my AV friends have about two dozen pieces of Mac malware in their zoos. The two or three Trojans that have gone wild have required a password, and it didn't seem to stop all those computer literate Mac users from installing them. ISTR the first OSX Trojan that went wild masquerading as a new version of iTunes and being passed from user to user fairly successfully.

Paul
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i like this forums quote notification thing. 7 years later- and i am still here. nuts. i have literally no recollection of this post.

anyway- as an above poster mentioned - there is an enormous difference between malware/trojans and viruses. AFAIK - there has yet to ever be a successful, self-propagating piece of OS X malware (edit: in the wild).

i would probably stand by my comment, in 2005, that there had yet to be a "virus" written for OS X. of course, i cannot know this 100% - but i have my doubts there was such a thing produced then. now? of course things have been written - but there still has never been a successful, self-propagating piece of malware for OS X in the ecosystem.
 
zach said:
i like this forums quote notification thing. 7 years later- and i am still here. nuts. i have literally no recollection of this post.

anyway- as an above poster mentioned - there is an enormous difference between malware/trojans and viruses. AFAIK - there has yet to ever be a successful, self-propagating piece of OS X malware (edit: in the wild).
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_(computer_worm)

Please note that Leap/A was not only a Trojan, but was reported as viral and propagated using Bonjour. It was also reported in the wild. Also, note that though it's not yet reported as wild, there are reports just last week of a new piece of OSX malcode that installs with zero user interaction.

zach said:
i would probably stand by my comment, in 2005, that there had yet to be a "virus" written for OS X. of course, i cannot know this 100% - but i have my doubts there was such a thing produced then. now? of course things have been written - but there still has never been a successful, self-propagating piece of malware for OS X in the ecosystem.
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I'm relatively sure my friends had POC viral malcode for OSX prior to 2005 in their zoos. Leap/A was discovered in early 2006, so I'm sure the kiddies were playing prior to that- I seem to recall folks looking at Mach-O infection around the 2001-2002 timeframe. I can't say for sure though, as my concentration at the time was Linux malcode, including ext2 viruses, and I found the concept of PPC malcode on the Ford platform a bit more interesting at the time.

The line between self-replicating malcode and ending up on the Wildlist isn't all that wide- it just takes the right timing, incentive or pure luck on the part of an attacker. The fact that Apple continues to half-bury it's head isn't encouraging- for instance, not sandboxing Safari, shipping a known-vulnerable version of Flash with Snow Leopard...

OSX has a lot of the frameworks needed to really be actually secure (most of them coming from the TrustedBSD project originally,) But even though that evolving framework has been built-in for a lot of years, it's not been implemented completely, and it's really too bad Apple isn't being more aggressive, I'd love to see MAC implemented on Macs for instance- the ability to say "This compartment shalt not touch the Internet" would be a fantastic start.

Paul
 
compuwar said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_(computer_worm)

Please note that Leap/A was not only a Trojan, but was reported as viral and propagated using Bonjour. It was also reported in the wild. Also, note that though it's not yet reported as wild, there are reports just last week of a new piece of OSX malcode that installs with zero user interaction.



I'm relatively sure my friends had POC viral malcode for OSX prior to 2005 in their zoos. Leap/A was discovered in early 2006, so I'm sure the kiddies were playing prior to that- I seem to recall folks looking at Mach-O infection around the 2001-2002 timeframe. I can't say for sure though, as my concentration at the time was Linux malcode, including ext2 viruses, and I found the concept of PPC malcode on the Ford platform a bit more interesting at the time.

The line between self-replicating malcode and ending up on the Wildlist isn't all that wide- it just takes the right timing, incentive or pure luck on the part of an attacker. The fact that Apple continues to half-bury it's head isn't encouraging- for instance, not sandboxing Safari, shipping a known-vulnerable version of Flash with Snow Leopard...

OSX has a lot of the frameworks needed to really be actually secure (most of them coming from the TrustedBSD project originally,) But even though that evolving framework has been built-in for a lot of years, it's not been implemented completely, and it's really too bad Apple isn't being more aggressive, I'd love to see MAC implemented on Macs for instance- the ability to say "This compartment shalt not touch the Internet" would be a fantastic start.

Paul
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I think we're splitting hairs now (although I will give you that you apparently know a lot more about OS X malcode than I do, and I will take your word for there being real malcode pre 2005. There still has never been a successful piece of malware for OS X, at least not how I am viewing successful.
 
GGJstudios said:
[*]For added security, make sure all network, email, financial and other important passwords are long and complex, including upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters.
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I've heard this is not the case. Hackers using password compilers have just as much success with 26 character passwords as 10 character password.

The biggest impediment to password hackers (my IT techs have told me) is
to not use any words or number strings you are familiar with - like a birthday of anyone in your family or a favorite vacation home address, or a car name etc... being that hackers can watch people on line and profile your habits - and thus profile your passwords derived from your habits.
 
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