Question about if I can get a virus?

[Liebo11]

I don't understand why if i go to the same websites as someone who is a windows user and download the same thing as them on my mac why I can't get the virus and only they can? Is it not still possible to get a virus from a torrent or other file or website with mac osx? Can someone please explain this to me?

Thanks

- J

 

[tvguru]

Basically it's the same reason you can't run windows software on the mac. It's incompatible and since there is no viruses that currently run on Mac OSX you simply cannot get a virus.

If you wanted more technically reasons there have been many threads on this in the past, just do a search.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

you can get as many viruses as windows is vulnerable to; you just won't be affected by them.

You will be familliar with the .exe extentions on most (all?) Windows apps. Apple don't use this extention, instead using .app. There are more reasons, have a look around the forums for them.

 

[Mr Skills]

Just like with other programs only a virus especially written for Mac OSX will work. No one has managed this yet.

.

.

 

[Josias]

Just like with other programs only a virus especially written for Mac OSX will work. No one has managed this yet.

.

.

Some have.

I have heard of a total of 2 viruses for OS X, but Apple released patches for them few hours after they were discovered, so one really were affected...

 

[tvguru]

Some have.

I have heard of a total of 2 viruses for OS X, but Apple released patches for them few hours after they were discovered, so one really were affected...

Any links to those? I don't recall any, unless your considering that stupid jpeg one.

 

[Josias]

Any links to those? I don't recall any, unless your considering that stupid jpeg one.

I dunno about those jpg viruses, and don't quite undertsand how an image file can contain a virus.

I just heard of those two viruses on MR. No sources or links.

 

[gauchogolfer]

I dunno about those jpg viruses, and don't quite undertsand how an image file can contain a virus.

I just heard of those two viruses on MR. No sources or links.

The .jpg 'virus' was a tricky file in which the real file type was a terminal command, but the extension was hidden. So if you opened the file it ran a terminal command rather than opening up a picture. Not a virus, just a script that would run if you opened a program from an unknown person.

 

[generik]

The .jpg 'virus' was a tricky file in which the real file type was a terminal command, but the extension was hidden. So if you opened the file it ran a terminal command rather than opening up a picture. Not a virus, just a script that would run if you opened a program from an unknown person.

That is a bit like saying clicking on an email attachment named "britneyspearsnaked.jpg .exe" is ok just because it is displayed as "britneyspearsnaked.jpg" and have a jpg icon.

It is poor security. When Microsoft did it they got flamed, now what they have instead is tons of popups asking you if you want to run the downloaded application. Perhaps Apple should keep these exploits in mind when designing interfaces. It is not really Apple's fault here, but they have to remember that their users aren't exactly the sharpest knives in the drawers, so to speak.