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On Safety when browsing the Internet with a Mac
- Thread starter doxavita
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Different sites, different apps. The CNET site is available for all Mac users. The Mac App Store is only available to users running Mac OS X 10.6 or later.
Every now and then when I'm browsing, I follow a link that causes one of those nuisance popups or popunders. Recently I got one that said my system might be infected and I should "click here to scan". Yeah, right. I closed the window right away and considered reporting the forum post that led to the site that made the popunder. Even if I'd clicked it, I would have probably downloaded some windows malware exe that would have been harmless on my Mac. There are plenty of exe and dll files in my downloads folder which goes to show just how much crap is auto downloaded these days. They want to open with crossover but I won't even touch them. I just delete them when I have the time.
A good safe computing practice on OS X is to avoid running safari and run either firefox or chrome. I like to run adblock and flashblock though noscript is a little too much for my tastes.
Another safe computing practice is to delete any windows exes and dlls that show up in your downloads folder. Some of them are lazy developers distributing stuff as self extracting exe files rather than zip or dmg. Others might be malware. Either way there is nothing to lose in deleting all of them from time to time.
I've also heard it is best to use a non-admin account for day to day use. I don't bother with this but there is a known exploit that requires the use of safari on an admin account so I would say either run a browser other than safari or set your account to a managed user, create a separate admin account and only switch to the admin account when you have to. Safari is nowhere near as bad as IE on windows, but it's not as secure as Firefox.
A good safe computing practice on OS X is to avoid running safari and run either firefox or chrome. I like to run adblock and flashblock though noscript is a little too much for my tastes.
Another safe computing practice is to delete any windows exes and dlls that show up in your downloads folder. Some of them are lazy developers distributing stuff as self extracting exe files rather than zip or dmg. Others might be malware. Either way there is nothing to lose in deleting all of them from time to time.
I've also heard it is best to use a non-admin account for day to day use. I don't bother with this but there is a known exploit that requires the use of safari on an admin account so I would say either run a browser other than safari or set your account to a managed user, create a separate admin account and only switch to the admin account when you have to. Safari is nowhere near as bad as IE on windows, but it's not as secure as Firefox.
And finally, what about my Gmail (Google mail)? , Is it fine/safe if I browse while having it's tab open? If I'm just careful about where I input my username and pass, anything to be aware of for my email?
Also, is it a good idea to clear all cookies and cache at the end of the day?
Also, is it a good idea to clear all cookies and cache at the end of the day?
No problem with gmail. It might be a good idea to run a flash blocker as some sites are littered with flash and leaving several tabs open with several instances of flash can eat a lot of memory.
Clearing cookies and cache is something I try to avoid. I do it every now and then when some web site quits working properly but clearing cookies and cache forces me to log in to sites I prefer to remain logged in to. (I don't have a shared machine).
I don't let any web browser save passwords for me. I prefer something like splashid or 1password. And I don't use the browser integration features of those products. I prefer to type my passwords each and every time they are asked for rather than have them "cached" somewhere on my machine and all somebody has to do is click to log in as me. They could take out the dozens of pennies I have bursting my savings account at the seams.
It's fine. Nothing to worry about.
It's not necessary at all. Really, you need to just stop worrying about everything and just use your Mac. If you read what has been posted so far, you don't need to keep asking questions about this. You already know all you need to know. It's really not that risky to use your Mac.
Great!, that's all I need to know for now ( I think
), thanks.EDIT: I'll update this thread if I come up with some other questions, please bear with me
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My apologies for asking so many questions, please bear with me
When visiting bank accounts online: I know it's best to manually input login data each time rather than have it automatically saved somewhere else (as r0k suggested). Anything else I should be aware of? Is it fine if I have other tabs open at the moment of the visit? Anything to clear before and after the visit? (This bears asking as it's important)
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Aside: Another thought I've been having: If a system is infected with a trojan for example, is the internet connection itself hijacked also? (in other words, if I unplug the Ethernet cable and plug it into another computer (trojan free), am I good? (could be either Mac or PC).
Thanks.
When visiting bank accounts online: I know it's best to manually input login data each time rather than have it automatically saved somewhere else (as r0k suggested). Anything else I should be aware of? Is it fine if I have other tabs open at the moment of the visit? Anything to clear before and after the visit? (This bears asking as it's important)
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Aside: Another thought I've been having: If a system is infected with a trojan for example, is the internet connection itself hijacked also? (in other words, if I unplug the Ethernet cable and plug it into another computer (trojan free), am I good? (could be either Mac or PC).
Thanks.
Anybody? I just want to know if I should make any exceptions when visiting bank accounts online. As long as I see there's a secure connection in the site I visit, and manually input login data (each time). Anything else? Any other precaution worth considering? No clearing anything?
My guess in my second question (from previous post) is that no, the internet connection isn't taken over. But what are your thoughts?
My guess in my second question (from previous post) is that no, the internet connection isn't taken over. But what are your thoughts?
No. No. No. No. No. Use the extra "no" responses for all the other similar questions you're thinking about asking. You've already been given all the information you need to know to safely browse the web and use your Mac, in this and the many other threads you've posted in. Why do you keep worrying about this? It is extremely unlikely you'll ever encounter any Mac malware, as long as you follow the recommendations that have been given to you over and over again. Being cautious is one thing... and highly recommended... being paranoid and obsessive is something else.
Am I doing something incorrect when trying to install this plugin? I am downloading the package and then installing it but then after deleting the package, there is a ClickToFlash document in my plugins folder but it doesn't seem to be doing anything and an error comes up when I click on it. Do you think you could help me out?
To the thread starter - I understand your concerns from going to Mac to Windows, but there isn't much need to be overly paranoid. Just don't get greedy with things you shouldn't be doing.
Have you restarted Safari? If so, go to Safari > ClickToFlash > Preferences to configure the plugin. If you've installed the extension, go to Safari > Preferences > Extensions to find the ClickToFlash extension.
Oh, okay - I didn't even see it in there. My Safari drop-down in the menu bar has "ClickToFlash" in it.
Two more questions if you don't mind - should "ClickToFlash.webplugin" remain in my Internet Plug-ins folder or should I get rid of it? Also, what settings would you recommend in terms of configuring ClickToFlash?
Thanks a lot for your help, man.
Yes, it should stay there. If you remove it, you disable it. Just make sure you click Enable ClickToFlash.
Okay, I will leave it there and it seems to be working really well. I didn't know that there was anything like this - it's really helpful.
Thanks a lot for your help, I appreciate it.