Anyone who's used Windows will disagree there. It's very easy for viruses to sneak into your computer with Windows, which is why it needs all those anti-virus programs.
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The Mac OS X AV Secret is out.
- Thread starter kilowattradio
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Anyone who's used Windows will disagree there. It's very easy for viruses to sneak into your computer with Windows, which is why it needs all those anti-virus programs.
Trojans are not as harmful because they can't self-replicate. They need the user to initiate it.
It's not a virus if you have to initiate something. Viruses, by definition, cause damage and/or distribute themselves without user interaction.
jW
Both types have to be called to run. You can download Viruses and Trojans on your desktop and have them sit there forever. They do not load themselves into memory by themselves. Either other programs load them or call their functions somehow. That's how they activate.
Sorry, but that's just not based on fact. If you download a virus (on a system that is capable of infecting), then it runs itself and begins replicating. It wouldn't be a virus if it didn't.
jW
That's not how computer programs work. They cannot load themselves into memory and start executing code by themselves. They have to be initialised by either the user, another application or the system. Virus_install.exe wont magically install itself unless another application calls it. I'm talking from programming experience.
Think about it, the author of the virus code that writes it, by that same logic would infect himself. Code does not run by itself. The OS makes sure of that, even the really crappy ones.
Think about it, the author of the virus code that writes it, by that same logic would infect himself. Code does not run by itself. The OS makes sure of that, even the really crappy ones.
No magic required. Browser scripts and plugins (active x) have been running code automatically (without user interaction) on Windows for a long time. Windows XP SP2 was the first version to significantly address this problem.
I guess that puts Windows XP SP1 and its predecessors a level below "really crappy".
You're thinking of a user initiating calls to programs. This is not the only way a program gets loaded. For instance, at the very basic level if you think of playing flash content - your browser launches the Flash Player which in turn plays flash media. One program calls another program to carry out functions. This is how programs interact. That Flash object didn't just magically load itself on your PC - it has to be called.
If you're on Windows and you have Virus.exe on your desktop - you're safe unless you execute it; but you're not really executing it, the Explorer shell is executing the code. The way Viruses get loaded is because a program on your PC executes the virus program, which enables it to run code.
Unless your machine has a remote vulnerability that is exploited by a virus over the network. THAT is the difference between a trojan and a virus.
Trojan = bad stuff hidden inside nice, appealing package. You enable it.
Virus = driveby, privilege escalation, etc.
I'm not thinking anything of the kind. What exactly is your point? Of course, a virus has to be run the first time. In infecting a new host, it places itself in areas in the system where it is run automatically without user interaction.
No one is saying that an inert file sitting on a disk is going to run itself. A virus takes advantage of various vulnerabilities in a system to cause some part of the system to run the viral code.
This arguement is still going on?
People will always be misinformed about viruses on the Mac. There has not been one released in the 9 years OS X has been out. End of story.
Trojans are a different thing all together, but stupid people who pirate software deserve what they get; and what, the trojans that currently exist aren't even in the double-digits, so it's not a big deal. Literally thousands exist for Windows, and literally millions of people don't or don't know how to protect their PCs properly.
I can't wait until the first virus comes out for the Mac OS (it will happen eventually when it's a profitable scheme); I will probably quit the internet for a few weeks. Not for protection from the virus.... but to just ignore the outlash from all the Windows users (since it will be a huge deal for them).
People will always be misinformed about viruses on the Mac. There has not been one released in the 9 years OS X has been out. End of story.
Trojans are a different thing all together, but stupid people who pirate software deserve what they get; and what, the trojans that currently exist aren't even in the double-digits, so it's not a big deal. Literally thousands exist for Windows, and literally millions of people don't or don't know how to protect their PCs properly.
I can't wait until the first virus comes out for the Mac OS (it will happen eventually when it's a profitable scheme); I will probably quit the internet for a few weeks. Not for protection from the virus.... but to just ignore the outlash from all the Windows users (since it will be a huge deal for them).
Sorry if I sound naive (I assure you I'm not, not in this regard), but I really don't see a virus ever being successfully deployed for the Mac. Trojans and phishing (which doesn't require anything on the computer) are going to be the major forms of malware or malicious activity on the computer from here on out. It seems you've fallen for the "security through obscurity" myth, which someone on here seems to have a list of articles refuting permanently in their clipboard and will probably interject them soon, but Mac OS X simply isn't vulnerable to virus or worm attacks. I seriously doubt it ever will be.
If I'm wrong about my earlier statement, I'll join you in boycotting the internet to avoid seeing the thousands of "OMG TEH MAC SUXORS" posts over the first (probably non-malicious) virus. Again, assuming it ever exists...
jW
