21–30 of 140 posts
Gonna need it from a source better than Vice.
> Taking control of a command and control server, however, had another unexpected outcome: Around 400 victims infected with FruitFly started connecting to it. "Unexpected"? How? This would have been obvious to Wardle. Maybe the journalist added this to "inject some suspense"? Thanks but no thanks, I won't bother reading the rest of this article.
> Taking control of a command and control server, however, had another unexpected outcome: Around 400 victims infected with FruitFly started connecting to it. "Unexpected"? How? This would have been obvious to Wardle. Maybe the journalist added this to "inject some suspense"? Thanks but no thanks, I won't bother reading the rest of this article.
I have used various Linux systems as my daily web browsing machine for years without feeling the need to install any third-party antivirus.
>the widespread belief that they are virus-free, Macs aren't immune from invasive and dangerous malware. This is an area where it's really hard to extrapolate from my personal experience to the entire population, but is this really an accurate statement of many people's beliefs? I think what people actually think is that the chances are much lower of encountering malware in the wild on a Mac. In support of that, havi…
Most users just don't think about it much, and the only exposure they got was ads telling them the thing doesn't get viruses, which Apple finally stopped doing in 2012 after have a very uncomfortable year... https://www.wired.com/2012/06/mac_viruses/
If you're here talking on HN, then yes, you probably fall into the category of folks who properly understand that uncommon != impossible. I sincerely doubt the vast majority of users make that jump.
As someone new to the Mac ecosystem, is it standard practice to run an antivirus as it is on Windows? I have used various Linux systems as my daily web browsing machine for years without feeling the need to install any third-party antivirus.
No, almost nobody does it (plus, a few "antivirus" products for Mac are malware themselves, e.g. Mac Defender etc.).
Most so-called "viruses" for Mac are in fact merely trojans (programs you need to download and run yourself to infect you).
As someone new to the Mac ecosystem, is it standard practice to run an antivirus as it is on Windows? I have used various Linux systems as my daily web browsing machine for years without feeling the need to install any third-party antivirus.
>the widespread belief that they are virus-free, Macs aren't immune from invasive and dangerous malware. This is an area where it's really hard to extrapolate from my personal experience to the entire population, but is this really an accurate statement of many people's beliefs? I think what people actually think is that the chances are much lower of encountering malware in the wild on a Mac. In support of that, havi…
Yes -- and what people believe is also true. It's indeed much lower, to the point of being a non-issue almost.
(And it's not due to "lower market share" either. Mac OS 7/8 etc had even lower market share than today's Macs have, and it had tons of viruses).
>the widespread belief that they are virus-free, Macs aren't immune from invasive and dangerous malware. This is an area where it's really hard to extrapolate from my personal experience to the entire population, but is this really an accurate statement of many people's beliefs? I think what people actually think is that the chances are much lower of encountering malware in the wild on a Mac. In support of that, havi…
It's been a few years, but the "I'm a Mac and I'm a PC" ad series talked up virus immunity quite a bit. I suppose one could argue that "don't get malware" was narrowly accurate in the sense that it wasn't presently happening, but there was a strong suggestion of "can't get malware" too.
>the widespread belief that they are virus-free, Macs aren't immune from invasive and dangerous malware. This is an area where it's really hard to extrapolate from my personal experience to the entire population, but is this really an accurate statement of many people's beliefs? I think what people actually think is that the chances are much lower of encountering malware in the wild on a Mac. In support of that, havi…
I would say it is accurate. I doubt most users really think it through, and Apple went out of their way to enforce the idea that Macs don't get viruses in their advertising campaigns around 2010 to 2012. Most users just don't think about it much, and the only exposure they got was ads telling them the thing doesn't get viruses, which Apple finally stopped doing in 2012 after have a very uncomfortable year... https://…
>It may have been technically accurate that Macs don’t get gummed up with PC viruses, but the implication that Apple is virus-free is certainly misleading.
But that "implication" is an assumed implication that I haven't seen play out in my non-tech friends. I always thought that stories like those were just drummed up by anti-virus vendors to make sure that people continue buying their wares.