Macs don’t get viruses? Think again
Posted by James | Filed under Geek, Security
Oh how the PC users have longed for this day. One of Apple’s main (and much trumpeted) marketing points being that Mac is practically virus free, many have held the view that this stems largely from Macs (and OS X) being less prominent on the market than Windows-based PCs.
As a long time PC user, I cannot deny that I consider some of the applications in Windows a security train wreck (*cough* IE6 *cough*), but I do agree that the myth about Macs being immune to viruses is overrated to some degree.
Now, many reports say that some pornography sites hold a Mac trojan pretending to be a video codec.
Granted, this is not the first Mac trojan nor the first Mac malware. But, this one seems to be particularly nasty.
Named OSX.RSPlug.A, it appears to Mac users as they’re lured into thinking they’re viewing a video, and acts as a necessary video codec. The computers of users who proceed with the installation will be infested by a DNSChanger that hijacks web requests sent to eBay, PayPal and several online banking websites. Not nice.
Tags: internet, mac, osx, Security, trojan, virus
5 Responses to “Macs don’t get viruses? Think again”
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Thom Says:
November 1st, 2007 at 5:06 amYeah but think about how many viruses there are compared to windows. Hackers are now turning their heads to Apple Mac’s because of the way things have kicked off with the ipod. Making people think about getting a Apple Computer.
Still nice facts james :),
Thomas
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Mike C. Says:
June 8th, 2008 at 11:17 pmIntego has named this malware the OSX.RSPlug.A Trojan Horse. Note that this malware is NOT a virus—it can’t self-propagate from one machine to another. It is, however, definitely malicious, and it’s packaged in a well-designed trojan horse wrapper. I’ve been running Linux for 5 years, Macs for 1.5 years and to this day I don’t have to run virus, adware, spyware, defrag, C cleaners, reg cleaner programs. All because of a beautiful unix platform. It’s nice to actually be able to WORK on my computer, rather than having to work ON my computer.
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freeman d. Says:
June 28th, 2008 at 6:52 pmSo wait, Jim Mah swears by his inferior PCs and now smiles with glee that Macs (mine has never had a single virus) now may soon get viruses? My question is, why the loyalty to a prehistoric operating system?
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James Says:
June 30th, 2008 at 2:56 pmWell no dude, I don’t swear by any particular platform. I use Windows and Linux at work, and have used Mac OS 9 and X in the past and all have their strengths and weaknesses.
What I do swear *AT* is the smug attitude and self-righteousness displayed by a minority of Mac users. I’m not poking fun at the fact all Mac users are potentially going to have to deal with viruses, but rather that one myth about UNIX-based systems has been exploded.
I generally use Windows as it is the best tool to do my job. I work as a .Net developer. I’ve used Mono under linux, and as good as those guys are, the project just isn’t up to scratch with the official MS release and Visual Studio 2008.
Oh, and its Jimmah, a nickname, not Jim Mah!
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Dave Says:
August 11th, 2008 at 4:20 pmEveryone knows that macs get viruses. I had a mac, it sucked, and I sent it back. Im still using xp, and yea sure I get my occasional virus. but I can fix it. Mac user have their head so far up their ass, they wont accept anything different. Brainwashed if you ask me.
Welcome to Jimmahdigital.com, personal blog of James Simm, Wigan/Manchester-based .Net developer.
