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New Variant of 'Mac Defender' Quickly Evades Apple's Security Update as Cat-and-Mouse Game Begins
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My guess would be 'A' ... windows users were trained over many many years to expect this **** to happen, Mac users feel safe. (I feel safe too, but I use common sense and lived in the Windows world for too long)
im confused...is the image shown what the new mac defender virus window looks like (that then installs when you click it), or are they just showing the legit removal window to really remove it.
We had an intern somehow get this on a Mac at work... thankfully the uninstallation process was relatively painless and took about a minute.
Every time I get them on a PC I feel like it's an all day chore. Sometimes system restore doesn't even fix it.
Every time I get them on a PC I feel like it's an all day chore. Sometimes system restore doesn't even fix it.
This is no longer talking about security though, but stability. The whole registry discussion is off-topic here...
You should be disabling System Restore. Malware can live in there and reinfect the system.
Troll?
I use Windows 7 for some of my work. My main machines are OS X and SunOS.
What I am trying to say that MS has showed a lot of effort on the security side which Apple has not, yet.
If you think I'm wrong, fine. But I don't see how I am biased towards Microsoft in this regard.
Sorry my apologies, I did come off a bit harsh. Windows has a huge problem with security and Microsoft knows it, but really doesn't do much about it. Sure they have the security essentials and updates but these are of little use when there are serious problems with the underlying OS. Its like trying to plug a whole in a ship that has the bottom missing. What they need to do is give Windows a re-write and drop some of the extreme legacy code. They don't want to do this for obvious reasons that businesses may have legacy systems, but in all honesty it needs to be done.
This is one of the reasons, note the fact Microsoft never replied to this guy for months:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/microsoft-confirms-17-year-old-windows-vulnerability/5307
I shouldn't have said it was a troll attempt, my bad but the registry does need to go. The average user doesn't need it and the fact that programs can go an access each others keys is a big problem. Malware almost always manifests itself in the registry and goes and messes with other programs registry settings. Unfortunately these programs don't rewrite their registry settings so whatever has been changed by malware stays changed until removal (which usually results in reinstalling the affected software) or having to go through tons of registry keys and change values manually.
The training wasn't good though. The problem goes on and on. Most of the problem is due to people going all over the internet looking for pirated software and media. Microsoft has said that some malware problems are in fact due to pirated copies of their OS.
No it wouldn't have been a disaster. It would have been a disaster if you clicked through the installer to install it and than enter your credit card information.
Not at all amazing.
Joe MAC Average will click on anything, until it goes away as it interrupts what they are doing.
Not a sign of intelligence, just impatience!
Because if Apple don't update the signatures for a month then the daily checking isn't going to help.
Just because it checks daily doesn't mean it actually does anything.
People looking for pirated software is another story - they play with the fire and will get burned. I was more thinking about users that don't do illegal stuff.
It can happen on any ... but I think only Safari has this stupid option to automatically open 'safe' attachments (which by now everybody should have turned off)
Know why no Russians were ever kidnapped in 1970's Lebanon or Syria? Well actually one was, and they were killed by terrorists. So the Russian KGB found out who was responsible, kidnapped THEM, cut of their heads and sent the heads to their families. The kidnappings stopped.
Just sayin'.
Just sayin'.
Sorry, I meant the people who are most likely to be hit by this, are the people who dont visit tech sites so they can be warned about it. Not visit tech sites and be hit by it.
Fair enough, that is the first reasoned argument I've heard against the registry, normally I get people just hating on it without backing anything up.
Are you going to persistently blame anyone falling for Mac Malware, on being a former Windows User? You should know that probably most Mac Users were Windows users at one point or another. Until you can back up your argument with facts, there's no sense spouting it at every opportunity.
I didnt mean files, I had .ini files on the brain when I was writing that. As someone who hasn't been hit by Malware since 1998, for me, the benefits of a Registry outweigh the negatives.
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How much more seriously do you want them to take it? Send out black vans loaded with a strike force of anti-malware commandos?
Super. Obviously true. Still not sure how that shows Microsoft is currently doing more to prevent MacDefender type attacks then Apple.
The problem is that Mac users have been lulled into a false sense of security, many apple folks have long proclaimed that Macs don't get viruses.
Now I know this is not a virus but to the average consumer, its the same thing. So they continually hear how you don't need antivirus software and you don't have worry about that stuff on the mac platform. They don't think twice about downloading something or clicking on a link. Why worry since Macs are immune.
Many of us knew this was coming and the Mac Defender malware is just the beginning.
Now I know this is not a virus but to the average consumer, its the same thing. So they continually hear how you don't need antivirus software and you don't have worry about that stuff on the mac platform. They don't think twice about downloading something or clicking on a link. Why worry since Macs are immune.
Many of us knew this was coming and the Mac Defender malware is just the beginning.
Here we go again ... people spreading fear of closed MacOS based on nothing.
My mom, like most of the older generation, is not aware of stuff like this and this morning actually pointed out to me that on her mac something called mdinstaller popped up and tried to install it, I think she installed it because she didn't realize what it was. I was unsure whether or not it was the mac defender virus (now I'm aware it is though). I made her update her computer last night so she already has the new update, does this mean it will automatically remove the software for her or does she have to do something to get it to uninstall.