Apple and virus troubles can be real these days.

[Choctaw]

I have been using computers since 1984 when virus things were not even heard of. Now they are everywhere. Mac computers have been saying for years that they are not effected. Wake up..... programers that use Macs are working at doing their dirty work as we speak. Now they are creating virus programs that don't just ruin a hard drive........they can go down into the bios chip on the motherboard and you got real troubles. What do you think of that? It might even be that SOME NOT ALL the virus programs are creatred by the very ones who sell anti-virus protection. Just my comments. But we live in a world full of people who want to kill us and kill our computers too. Rodny King said "Why can't we all just get along"...answer is we live in an imperfect world full of evil thinking trolls.

 

[SilentPanda]

Do you have any relevant links to support your statements?

 

[ECUpirate44]

Do you have any relevant links to support your statements?

I'd like to see some too. If not, OP=Troll.

 

[wpotere]

I have been using computers since 1984 when virus things were not even heard of. Now they are everywhere. Mac computers have been saying for years that they are not effected. Wake up..... programers that use Macs are working at doing their dirty work as we speak. Now they are creating virus programs that don't just ruin a hard drive........they can go down into the bios chip on the motherboard and you got real troubles. What do you think of that? It might even be that SOME NOT ALL the virus programs are creatred by the very ones who sell anti-virus protection. Just my comments. But we live in a world full of people who want to kill us and kill our computers too. Rodny King said "Why can't we all just get along"...answer is we live in an imperfect world full of evil thinking trolls.

Hate to be a jerk, but you don't really sound like you know what you are talking about. Please provide a bit more insight rather than a rambling of "they go down into the bios chip"... I have also been using computers as long as you and I am an IT professional (DBA/Programmer). To date there is not a virus known that can affect a UNIX based machine that wouldn't require user interface (thus negating the term "virus"). Malware is a possibility but if you don't load torrents you should have a problem. Basically what you are reporting is pointless dribble.

As for the rest, you sound paranoid.

 

[roadbloc]

That is one cool story OP. I have yet to have my Mac's hard drive damaged by one of these viruses.
Nice of you to also revive an old thread with the same statement here.

 

[Choctaw]

Glad to accommodate your request for reference material.

Here are 7 places to read about the virus/malware concerns we should have for the Apple computer community. They are the real deal. To not at least take precautions like the PC world has been doing for years would put a Mac computer at risk. I am not wanting to play a game with the ones who have taken issue with my posting concerning Mac virus/malware, just trying to say “a word to the wise is sufficient”. Better to take note now than after you get hit by one of these conditions.

http://clickpcrx.blogspot.com/2011/01/top-5-malware-for-mac-os-x.html


http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-9808489-37.html

http://www.macforensicslab.com/Prod...in_page=document_general_info&products_id=174


http://www.life123.com/technology/computer-software/malware/how-do-i-remove-malware.shtml

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/393949/

http://www.ask.com/questions-about/How-Do-I-Remove-Malware-From-My-Mac

http://www.macforensicslab.com/Malware_on_Mac_OS_X.pdf

 

[roadbloc]

None of them are viruses. That is malware that needs installing (requiring a password off the user) to run.

The "BIOS" on my Mac is safe...

 

[simsaladimbamba]

If you haven't received your PM yet, the answer to three of yours, here it is again:

The only anti-virus you need to protect your Mac is education and common sense.

Mac Virus/Malware Info​

Btw, Macs don't have a BIOS, they have EFI.

 

[Choctaw]

Hate to be a jerk,I am an IT professional (DBA/Programmer). To date there is not a virus known that can affect a UNIX based machine Malware is a possibility

Read this wpotere the professional one, and not to leave out your 20 years in the IT industry and a degree to go with it. Wonder if it's a BS or a PHD meaning more of the BS pilled high and deeper.

UNIX can be effected.


http://www.claymania.com/unix-viruses.html

 

[MonkeySee....]

If you haven't received your PM yet, the answer to three of yours, here it is again:


Btw, Macs don't have a BIOS, they have EFI.

I clicked on the first link and that was enough for me not to bother with the others

Read this professional one.


http://www.claymania.com/unix-viruses.html

Historical" quote from Vecna ("author" of the Hybris worm) | 1999-11-11 20:49:24 CET:

Linux virus do exists... I already saw a per-process Linux virus infecting the ELF's PLT section, and ptrace() can be perverted very easily

Vecna/29A

1999 lol

 

[Apple OC]

Read this professional one.


http://www.claymania.com/unix-viruses.html

lol ... straight from the hip by the "professionals" ... Clay, Frederic and Andrew

lmfao ... "claymania"

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Out of curiosity, I checked all the links and couldn't find any proof, it seems as thought more than half the articles promote some kind of AV software.
Let the Lemmings fall for it seems to be their credo.
Again:

The only anti-virus you need to protect your Mac is education and common sense.

Mac Virus/Malware Info​

Please, please use it and don't quote some greek philosopher from two thousand years ago, not hundreds. Maybe the Indians knew about him though.

Here are 7 places to read about the virus/malware concerns we should have for the Apple computer community. They are the real deal. To not at least take precautions like the PC world has been doing for years would put a Mac computer at risk. I am not wanting to play a game with the ones who have taken issue with my posting concerning Mac virus/malware, just trying to say “a word to the wise is sufficient”. Better to take note now than after you get hit by one of these conditions.

http://clickpcrx.blogspot.com/2011/01/top-5-malware-for-mac-os-x.html

Trojan.OSX.Jahlav.A& Trojan.OSX.Jahlav.A – The Fake Codec
The OSX.Jahlav family has been discovered in November 2008, when it started to be distributed as a fake codec. In order to lure users into downloading and installed the malicious DMG (Disk Image) file, the gang behind this scheme created a page claiming to feature an “unplayable” video. If the user installs this alleged codec, the malicious payload starts downloading additional Trojans from a remote web server.

... not a virus, but a trojan, the user has to install him- or herself.

Trojan.OSX.RSPlug.A – Porn may get you phished even on a Mac
This is one of the most dangerous families of malware running on Mac OS X. The RSPlug Trojan also plays the missing codec card in order to persuade the user into downloading and installing the infected DMG. It is present particularly on websites with pornographic content. Once installed, the Trojan tampers with the DNS server entries in order to redirect traffic from legit addresses to copycat, spoofed domains set up by phishers to collect critical information about e-banking accounts, email and the like.

... not a virus, but a trojan, the user has to install him- or herself.

Trojan.OSX.OpinionSpy.A – Mac Screensavers reporting to the base
The OpinionSpy family of spyware is usually installed by a number of freely-distributed applications such as screen-savers and audio / video converters. The installer utility of these applications will fetch the spyware package, install it and run is with root privileges. Trojan.OSX.OpinionSpy.A poses as a marketing research tool, but it does more than collecting users’ browsing habits and preferences: it also opens backdoors and shuffles through a great number of documents found on both local and remote drives. The Trojan poses a great danger to the user’s privacy and to the security of the stored data.

... not a virus, but a trojan, the user has to install him- or herself.

Trojan.OSX.Boonana.A – The Social Network Worm
Trojan.OSX.Boonana.A is a multi-platform e-threat that can run on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux altogether. This Java-based piece of malware downloads a couple of malicious files in the user’s home folder in an invisible folder called “.jnana”, then installs a local IRC- and web server, among others. The Boonana piece of malware will also attempt to change the DNS server settings in order to hijack requests to legit websites towards spoofed websites as part of an extremely efficient phishing scheme.

... the culprit is Java. Again, common sense might help.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-9808489-37.html

Intego, a Mac security software company, issued an alert Wednesday warning Mac users of the OSX.RSPlug.A malware, which it describes as a Trojan horse. Those of you familiar with mythology recognize the reference, and OSX.RSPlug.A disguises itself as a video codec that would ensure whatever porn video you just stumbled upon will play on your Mac.

... not a virus, but a trojan, the user has to install him- or herself.

http://www.macforensicslab.com/Prod...in_page=document_general_info&products_id=174

proper link to the PDF: http://www.macforensicslab.com/Malware_on_Mac_OS_X.pdf
Aha, it talks about the possibility of viruses hiding in packages, but where are those again? Lost?

http://www.life123.com/technology/computer-software/malware/how-do-i-remove-malware.shtml

Not really any proof by the author of what viruses exist. It seems more like some advertisement for the AV software titles.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/393949/

Have you read the thread yet?

http://www.ask.com/questions-about/How-Do-I-Remove-Malware-From-My-Mac

Have you read that thread yet? Till the end on page 2?

http://www.macforensicslab.com/Malware_on_Mac_OS_X.pdf
This is the same PDF you almost linked to in your third link.

 

[wpotere]

Read this professional one UNIX can be effected.


http://www.claymania.com/unix-viruses.html

That isn't professional, that is a BLOG! Quit believing everything you read on the web and start researching it. You also need to understand the basic difference between a virus and a trojan.

 

[GGJstudios]

Read this professional one UNIX can be effected.

• Not one thing you've posted has referenced a Mac OS X virus. That's because NONE exist.
• Every bit of Mac OS X malware you've posted about refers to the same handful of trojans, all of which require the user to actively install them, entering their admin password in the process. They can easily be avoided with some common sense.
• The white paper article you posted a link to is filled with inaccuracies and false statements, as munkery already addressed in another thread.

I have been using computers since 1984

I've been using computers since 1971, but that doesn't make me an expert on everything having to do with computers. Your experience doesn't, either.

since 1984 when virus things were not even heard of.

False. Do a little research before you post falsehoods.

The Creeper virus was first detected on ARPANET, the forerunner of the Internet, in the early 1970s.
"Elk Cloner" was the first computer virus to appear "in the wild" — that is, outside the single computer or lab where it was created. Written in 1981 by Richard Skrenta, it attached itself to the Apple DOS 3.3 operating system and spread via floppy disk.

Mac computers have been saying for years that they are not effected.

Mac computers have said nothing of the kind. Mac owners have been saying that Macs are not currently affected by viruses, which is true. There were viruses over 10 years ago that could infect Mac OS 9 and earlier versions, but not one virus has ever been found in the wild that runs on Mac OS X. No one who has any sense has been saying that Macs are immune to malware. If you took the time to read and understand the Mac Virus/Malware Info link that has been posted again and again, you wouldn't be posting this nonsense.

...programers that use Macs are working at doing their dirty work as we speak.

Proof? I didn't think so!

Now they are creating virus programs that don't just ruin a hard drive.

Proof? I didn't think so!

.they can go down into the bios chip on the motherboard and you got real troubles.

Proof? I didn't think so! By the way, there IS no "bios chip on the motherboard" of Mac computers.

It might even be that SOME NOT ALL the virus programs are creatred by the very ones who sell anti-virus protection.

Proof? I didn't think so!

Just my comments.

Your comments are not based in fact. If you're posting your opinion, say so. Don't make statements as if they're facts, unless you can back them up with factual evidence.

 

[Choctaw]

That isn't professional, that is a BLOG! Quit believing everything you read on the web and start researching it. You also need to understand the basic difference between a virus and a trojan.

Are you saying that a BLOG has no truth to offer? I am not wanting to debate the difference of what name to call a malicious code designed to attact a computer, just show that they are there. Quite frankly I do not know the difference between a virus, malware, or a Trojan. Also I don’t profess to understand if a Mac has a bios chip…but they have internal workings just as a PC does and they can be compromised. What I do know is that programs/codes exist that can come after our computers. This knowledge comes to me from what I read mostly on the web. Some of it might not be true, but it all can’t be a hoax. I am just stating that Apple computers and PC’s are at risk in today market. End of message.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Are you saying that a BLOG has no truth to offer? I am not wanting to debate the difference of what name to call a malicious code designed to attact a computer, just show that they are there. Quite frankly I do not know the difference between a virus, malware, or a Trojan. Also I don’t profess to understand if a Mac has a bios chip…but they have internal workings just as a PC does and they can be compromised. What I do know is that programs/codes exist that can come after our computers. This knowledge comes to me from what I read mostly on the web. Some of it might not be true, but it all can’t be a hoax. I am just stating that Apple computers and PC’s are at risk in today market. End of message.

The read this, again:

The only anti-virus you need to protect your Mac is education and common sense.

Mac Virus/Malware Info​

 

[MonkeySee....]

Are you saying that a BLOG has no truth to offer? I am not wanting to debate the difference of what name to call a malicious code designed to attact a computer, just show that they are there. Quite frankly I do not know the difference between a virus, malware, or a Trojan. Also I don’t profess to understand if a Mac has a bios chip…but they have internal workings just as a PC does and they can be compromised. What I do know is that programs/codes exist that can come after our computers. This knowledge comes to me from what I read mostly on the web. Some of it might not be true, but it all can’t be a hoax. I am just stating that Apple computers and PC’s are at risk in today market. End of message.

This post makes this thread even more bizzare than it already is.

 

[GGJstudios]

Quite frankly I do not know the difference between a virus, malware, or a Trojan.

If you read the link I posted, you would know.

What I do know is that programs/codes exist that can come after our computers

As has been stated again and again, the only such programs that exist that can affect Mac OS X are trojans, which require the user to actively install. The simple protection against them is... DON'T install them!

Some of it might not be true

NOW you're making sense!

I am just stating that Apple computers and PC’s are at risk in today market.

No one has said they aren't at risk.

During my long life span of 68 years I have met may situations where someone would tell me they knew such and such as an absolute fact. However when pressed to come up with the proof……….they waffled.

This is one of those situations. Look in the mirror.

 

[roadbloc]

Are you saying that a BLOG has no truth to offer? I am not wanting to debate the difference of what name to call a malicious code designed to attact a computer, just show that they are there. Quite frankly I do not know the difference between a virus, malware, or a Trojan. Also I don’t profess to understand if a Mac has a bios chip…but they have internal workings just as a PC does and they can be compromised. What I do know is that programs/codes exist that can come after our computers. This knowledge comes to me from what I read mostly on the web. Some of it might not be true, but it all can’t be a hoax. I am just stating that Apple computers and PC’s are at risk in today market. End of message.

Can you run a Windows 98 virus on Windows 7? No. Hell, you can't even run a legit Windows 98 app on Windows 7 sometimes.
Does a UNIX effecting virus from 1999 still effect UNIX? Unlikely.
Can only professionals write blogs? No.

Please, this topic has been discussed over and over and over. The fact still remains that without actively installing one of the few MacOS trojans out there, (which requires you to enter your admin password), you cannot get malware on a Mac.

Sometimes, a trojan has been bundled with pirated software, I believe a pirated copy of iWork a while back came bundled with a Trojan. Not sure what the Trojan did or entailed as I buy my software, but that is the only case I can remember that malware has had some sort of impact on Mac users. And it was a while back now, at least 3 or 4 years ago now.

So yes, you win. Mac's are not 100% safe. They are 99% safe if you just use your common sense and don't enter your password for something you didn't ask for. Is that what you wanted?

 

[GGJstudios]

I believe a pirated copy of iWork a while back came bundled with a Trojan. Not sure what the Trojan did or entailed as I buy my software, but that is the only case I can remember that malware has had some sort of impact on Mac users. And it was a while back now, at least 3 or 4 years ago now.

From 2009:
Pirated iWork '09 installer may contain trojan horse
OS X iWork Trojan Revamped, Repackaged, Rereleased in Photoshop

Read the bottom of the Mac Virus/Malware link I posted for info on a java-based trojan that was released 5 months ago.

 

[macquariumguy]

I have been using computers since 1984 when virus things were not even heard of.

There were plenty of Mac viruses in the 80s and 90s.

 

[secondhandloser]

These threads make my head hurt.

 

[wpotere]

Are you saying that a BLOG has no truth to offer?

Yes, it is inaccurate.

I am not wanting to debate the difference of what name to call a malicious code designed to attact a computer, just show that they are there.

But there is a huge difference. A virus can install and propogate itself without user intervention. This is what makes it dangerous and why having virus scan software running is important. Malware is something that a user installs inadvertantly and if you avoid torrents and such your likely to never see one.

Quite frankly I do not know the difference between a virus, malware, or a Trojan. Also I don’t profess to understand if a Mac has a bios chip…but they have internal workings just as a PC does and they can be compromised. What I do know is that programs/codes exist that can come after our computers. This knowledge comes to me from what I read mostly on the web. Some of it might not be true, but it all can’t be a hoax. I am just stating that Apple computers and PC’s are at risk in today market. End of message.

You claimed to have vast knowledge dating back to 1987 which is why many folks are after you right now. Basically what you just posted shows that you have little to no knowledge of the OS or the hardware that you are using. I work in IT and I have not seen a single virus for either OSX or Solaris (UNIX) to date which is what everyone here is telling you. So, you will believe a complete strangers blog post but not the users here? We are telling you this so you don't waste you money and system resources on something you don't need. Does this mean that they won't ever get one? No, but when one finally does find a way to exploit the system you can bet that Apple will plug that hole up real quick.

 

[Choctaw]

That isn't professional, that is a BLOG.

I did not mean the blog was professional. I meant for you as the self proclaimed "IT Professional" which you so clearly stated in your post to read the article referenced.

The year was 1984 when I started using computers (1st was Texas Inst) and I did not in any was claim as you have suggested to have vast knowledge about computers. Just that I have been using them many years.

This entire subject I have brought up was only intended to state simply that computers both PC’s and Mac’s are targets for malicious code writers. More so now days for the Mac world as they become more prevalent in the market. I did not expect to be a target for all of the posters who only want to pick away at the core substance of my post. Questioning or just calling it an untruth as to if it really applies to their self proclaimed Holy Grail the Mac OS and Mac’s internal parts.


When I accepted an offer from SilentPanda to reinstate this thread he asked me to provide external resources as factual backup, not just opinions. I believe many of the reference sites I have offered show clearly that my basic premises that Mac’s are at risk is true. (1000's of examples can be found by using Google) SilentPanda expressed that other wise the thread would continue in the spiral it has been going and be locked again. It is sad that I just wanted to give out some information believed to be of help to unsuspected users who might be at risk in a changing environment.

This thread which has turned into not a warning but a war of words might as well be locked up again for my part. I feel like Chicken Little as I am being told by some of the members here that the sky is not falling in the Mac World. Down the line when the very things you folks have scoff at me for saying come home to bite you…..maybe then you will realize I was only trying to be of help not the pain in the back side you have made me out to be.

Thanks to SilentPanda for letting me at least speak my part.
Choctaw

 

[*LTD*]

It's been over 9 years, dude. We're kinda still waiting for that massive tide of Mac malware to hit, never mind the iOS malware that as yet doesn't exist. It might all be out there - loads of it - in like one massive ball of virusy virusness. But we're just not seeing it. There might be tens or even hundreds of different reasons for this. But none of that makes any difference when Joe User sits down at his Mac or with his iPad and surfs the web with impunity, often with the firewall turned off (on OS X), no a/v software, no spyware cleaners . . . nothing . . . and emerge from the experience unscathed. Over and over again. After surfing around the most questionable sites.

No, Apple and virus troubles aren't all that real these days - no more real than they were five years ago. They *can* be real, just like the Zune *could have* been great. But they (and it) just aren't.

We still only have like a couple of trojans and I think one actual virus. Probably neither of which you'll actually experience, ever. And if I'm not mistaken most of the 2-3 things out there don't actually do anything all that harmful.

It's no more an issue than it was five years ago. But if and when it does become one (might take five more years) then I'm sure you'll let us know.

Cheers.