Is the mac so safe now?

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Originally Posted by Christopher Null

Macintosh botnet on the march
A common refrain when I post about Windows security vulnerabilities like
Conficker is "Get a Mac!" thanks to their long history of being
comparatively secure next to Windows PCs.
Those days may be about to change. Already this year a handful of
exploits that target the Mac platform have begun to trickle out. Now
comes news that one of those attacks which infect MacOS computers
exclusively continues to spread and has been at least moderately
successful in forming a botnet, a network of computers that come under
the control of a remote attacker, usually with the goal of creating a
coordinated attack on other machines (or, for example, sending spam en
masse).
The new network of infected machines is being called the iBotnet and is
so far limited in its prevalence -- only a few thousand Macs are thought
to be infected to date -- but as CNN notes, it's another ominous step
toward the end of the Mac's free ride on the security train, as malicious
hackers target the increasingly popular computing platform now that it's in
use by a significant enough number of people to merit attention.
The botnet is being spread through pirated copies of the iWork
application, the same mechanism I wrote about in January. But efforts to
thwart the spread of the Trojan horse appear to have been stymied, as
the botnet continues to rumble along. Apple says it is working to secure
its machines from the attack (well of course it is...), but some are now
starting to wonder whether the time is here for Mac users to consider
installing security software, the kind of protection which is absolutely
required on PCs these days.
Many of the Mac faithful say it's not yet mandatory, but I'm not so sure.
Today's Mac malware may be relatively rare and largely innocuous, but
that usually indicates that worse storms are on the horizon as hackers
figure out how to take an idea and run with it. Better to protect yourself
now before something truly awful makes headlines
Should you install a Mac security application today? It might not be such
a bad idea. And, some good news: at least one free anti-malware
application is available for the Mac, too.

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-Source: tech.Yahoo.com

wow, that article failed to mention the only way to get it in to install infected warez, I saw the same story on digg yesterday, but it was from a different site, macs are still safe and will continue to be thanks to the way unix is set up

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Originally Posted by B1G_BR0TH3R

wow, that article failed to mention the only way to get it in to install infected warez, I saw the same story on digg yesterday, but it was from a different site, macs are still safe and will continue to be thanks to the way unix is set up

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No shit thats the only way to get it on PC's too. Installing infected shit.

Ha wow. The only thing that I got to say about this is that MACs will always be better than Windows cuz of the way the programming is in Linux.

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Originally Posted by »72éçø7V™Â«

Ha wow. The only thing that I got to say about this is that MACs will always be better than Windows cuz of the way the programming is in Linux.

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Lmfao. Funny because Mac's don't run Linux unless you put it on there. They come with Mac OS.

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Originally Posted by Zeus

Lmfao. Funny because Mac's don't run Linux unless you put it on there. They come with Mac OS.

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I think he meant unix

Well, im not a Mac fan....i dont have an explination to why....just one of those fealing you get.

Rather stick with Microsoft, and vista SUCKS!!

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Originally Posted by B1G_BR0TH3R

I think he meant unix

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Who in their right mind would be running unix? Fuckin Dinosaurs?

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Originally Posted by poop-is-brown

Who in their right mind would be running unix? Fuckin Dinosaurs?

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osx uses unix, linux uses unix, hell THE GOVERNMENT USES UNIX, this site might even be using unix

You're a noob CodeX, lol, these things pop up randomly - they don't last and the do practically no damage. : D

Poop doesn't know anything about computers and the Government (USA wise) uses Win for the most part. Servers are a different story... Windows servers make that story sad.

Mac won't always be safe, it will get fucked when it becomes the majority.

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Originally Posted by BlackVenom

You're a noob CodeX, lol, these things pop up randomly - they don't last and the do practically no damage. : D

Mac won't always be safe, it will get fucked when it becomes the majority.

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uh, it will be very difficult for macs to get fucked by a "virus" thanks to the way unix is built

Any idiot who can get a virus on a PC can get one on a mac.

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Originally Posted by angrybanana90210

Any idiot who can get a virus on a PC can get one on a mac.

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Exactly. If the user of the PC isn't an idiot and knows what they are doing it is hard to get infected with a virus.

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Originally Posted by angrybanana90210

Any idiot who can get a virus on a PC can get one on a mac.

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Not necessarily. The primary way of getting viruses on Macs is via torrents & pirated software. People don't set traps for macs, they do it for PC. It would take that idiot a long time to succeed in failing on a Mac.

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Originally Posted by B1G_BR0TH3R

uh, it will be very difficult for macs to get fucked by a "virus" thanks to the way unix is built

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Again, not necessarily. As I said when the majority of the world is using Mac the majority of the skids and hackers will be too. If it has a line of code it can be hacked, reversed, and fucked.

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Originally Posted by BlackVenom

Not necessarily. The primary way of getting viruses on Macs is via torrents & pirated software. People don't set traps for macs, they do it for PC. It would take that idiot a long time to succeed in failing on a Mac.



Again, not necessarily. As I said when the majority of the world is using Mac the majority of the skids and hackers will be too. If it has a line of code it can be hacked, reversed, and fucked.

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if it wants to do anything of any type of importance and not run in "userland" it will need to be root, how do you get to be root? IT NEEDS YOUR PASSWORD WHICH IT CAN'T GET UNLESS IT ASKS YOU FIRST, don't anybody fucking attempt to say "well hell, you could just get the password file and decrypt it" IT WON'T WORK THE KEY TO DECRYPT IT IS IN THE KEYCHAIN WHICH NEEDS A PASSWORD TO BE ACCESSED. If a program has an exploit it needs to be running as root if it wants to do any type of damage, and not many programs run as root. or it could install the "virus" when you install the program, however any idiot could easily see it, all you have to do is go into finder and hit the today button under search for then ta freaking da you can see everything opened, created, or modified in the past day

i feel almost postive now that my mac has some sort of infection, it runs ALOT slower than what it used to when i first purchased it, and often overheats to some extreme temperatures (not sure if that has anything to do with it)
i have sufficient space remaining (80 gb) so its not like that is an issue.
macbook pro. and i'm upset with its current performance

Don't forget about the javascript exploit that they can inject this with for macs

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Originally Posted by Imagine.+

i feel almost postive now that my mac has some sort of infection, it runs ALOT slower than what it used to when i first purchased it, and often overheats to some extreme temperatures (not sure if that has anything to do with it)
i have sufficient space remaining (80 gb) so its not like that is an issue.
macbook pro. and i'm upset with its current performance

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you just have too much crap laying on the desktop

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Originally Posted by B1G_BR0TH3R

you just have too much crap laying on the desktop

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i dont have anything on my desktop
literally, nothing

Whats the sense of arguing over an operating system(s)?

some1 will eventually hak macs os but im sure macintosh will figure out a way to fix

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Originally Posted by lolhacks

some1 will eventually hak macs os but im sure macintosh will figure out a way to fix

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your an idiot, macintosh doesn't make macs, APPLE INC. DOES!!!

Besides, mac osx can't be "hacked" it CAN NOT GET VIRUSES apple uses unix as the base for osx, which can NEVER get a virus unless you are stupid enough to intentionally install one.

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Originally Posted by B1G_BR0TH3R

your an idiot, macintosh doesn't make macs, APPLE INC. DOES!!!

Besides, mac osx can't be "hacked" it CAN NOT GET VIRUSES apple uses unix as the base for osx, which can NEVER get a virus unless you are stupid enough to intentionally install one.

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omg w/e, apple. but i know macs cant get viruses, and im saying it prolly eventually will, especially if every sees how much windows sucks and goes with a mac, then everyone will try to hack the mac. nobody's trying that hard to hack it right now because they have window's computers to hack:)

Common Sense:
Everything is hackable. Period.
If it has a line of code, and the hacker is determined and finds an exploit, its possible.

Mac will be hacked.

People are doing the same they did with the PSP
They said PSP-3000 was impervious to hackers

They're saying Mac can't be hacked. Its only a matter of time...

(I was a victim of Trojans and worms, but that was because of f*cking norton, I was insecure, f*cked up my pc, yet, it still runs way better then a Mac will ever run. I think Macs are too expensive and just a waste. Not to mention half the stuff I have probaly won't work on a Mac (VIsta only!) but that's just my opinion )

well i think macs are better but still, they'll become hacked

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Originally Posted by lolhacks

well i think macs are better but still, they'll become hacked

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for gaming, pc's cant be beat
but i love my mac, its good for casual work

yeah, macs are better for work. that's y we have them at school

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Originally Posted by lolhacks

yeah, macs are better for work. that's y we have them at school

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same here..
but the ones at skool work like crap.

we have good macs, we have like 8 imacs and the rest are macbooks

you guys are fucking stupid, the mac can't get hacked. hacking means to make someething do what it normally can't. Since apple allows you to write programs for it and have it do anything it is already "hacked" AND THEY CAN NOT GET VIRUSES, NOT NOW, NOT EVER. Why one might ask.. because osx is at the core UNIX, which can not get viruses, NOT NOW NOT EVER. IF you are wondering why refer to my above posts, which explains it

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Originally Posted by B1G_BR0TH3R

you guys are fucking stupid, the mac can't get hacked. hacking means to make someething do what it normally can't. Since apple allows you to write programs for it and have it do anything it is already "hacked" AND THEY CAN NOT GET VIRUSES, NOT NOW, NOT EVER. Why one might ask.. because osx is at the core UNIX, which can not get viruses, NOT NOW NOT EVER. IF you are wondering why refer to my above posts, which explains it

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i never said anything about it getting hacked...
just wondering about infections and viruses

i have to say this, although im not a mac fan, it is definitely more secure than windows. no matter what you say, its nearly as safe as linux. reason is, its designed to be safer, simply because unlike windows, you need the root password to write to system files. so short of giving out your root password for free, you're not going to get a virus/get hacked while on a mac. its simple. not because "nobody wants to make viruses for it," not because people who use macs are smarter, its because its designed to be more secure.

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Originally Posted by B1G_BR0TH3R

wow, that article failed to mention the only way to get it in to install infected warez, I saw the same story on digg yesterday, but it was from a different site, macs are still safe and will continue to be thanks to the way is set up

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Im a PC user myself and always will be, but since most schools in the US now use Macs i kinda like having to use them for work and such. Thank heavens they are near immune to everything....except water.

I didn't know schools use them in the US! That's pretty cool. I think macs will get viruses one day, because it isn't unheard of that people get round 'password protected shit' why should the root pass be any different?

Anyway, the point people were trying to make about no one 'wanting' to make viruses for the mac is this:

The mac is harder to make a virus for
There are many PCs out there that are easier to infect and it is a wider range of people
Why would someone do something that requires A LOT more effort and get less benefits