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Apple Quietly Pulls Claims of Virus Immunity

pcworld.com

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Re: Apple Quietly Pulls Claims of Virus Immunity

#131

Post by duaneb »

mrich wrote: post #74
technel wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's pretty clear that the next Microsoft v. Apple war is being waged in the tablet market (the show is over for cellphones -- Apple won). Traditionally Microsoft hasn't done well at competing with Apple on their own turf (mobile, mp3 players, etc), but it'll be interesting to see what the Microsoft Surface means for all of this.

Apple won big in smartphones, but Android has a bigger marketshare. Competition between all smartphone vendors have made the customer the biggest winner in any case.

Android isn't a household brand. Apple is.

Re: Apple Quietly Pulls Claims of Virus Immunity

#133

Post by novalis »

reidmain wrote: post #125
novalis wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you post is fascinating, that is why I am asking all these coming questions. Are you able, in good conscience of course, to point out antivirus software that would not qualify as "POS"? Do you think that installing said not-"POS" antiviral software would be constructive or a big no no, at any given time ? (if they really exist and based on your own deep behavioral security know how, of course, that would be of g…

I haven't used antivirus software in well over a decade and I will no longer instruct anyone to install it. I have had no good experiences with antivirus software and from what I have read over the last decade they seem to stop only the most flagrantly obvious viruses out there. These same viruses are easily stopped by teaching safe browsing techniques and running web browsers that auto-update with plug-ins disabled.…

I think enabling better computing, independently of entry level know-how, to be something that sometimes has amazing effects. That is why I asked if you had that happen.

I still remember when a neighbour came by and explained to me some Basic on the spectrum and how that led to me wanting to buy a motorola assembler book some years later. And how that turned me to being interested in softice and all that came later... that is why I asked.

I mostly like v8 because it runs three.js stuff crazy fast.

Re: Apple Quietly Pulls Claims of Virus Immunity

#134

Post by adgar »

SquareWheel wrote: post #117
SquareWheel wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really doesn't take state of the art security, it just takes some healthy skepticism when browsing the web. If you know not to click on flashing red banners, you'll be okay. I went without antivirus for years, but now I just run MSSE in the background as it's so light. It's only alerted me to false positives so far, but they're few and far between. I will say that if I'm suspicious of a file (say, a dll I had to g…

The sarcasm isn't helpful, guy.

Nor is your claim that malware hasn't affected your life using Windows in the last 10 years. Even if it's actually true, it's at least a 4-sigma event.

Re: Apple Quietly Pulls Claims of Virus Immunity

#135

Post by snowwrestler »

SquareWheel wrote: post #96
adgar wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow! 10 years of only using computers operated and actively maintained by users who can stay up-to-date on security best practices. You made it from before XP until now without ever dealing with Windows malware! You're pretty damn lucky - I sometimes use computers that belong to laypeople :-(

It really doesn't take state of the art security, it just takes some healthy skepticism when browsing the web. If you know not to click on flashing red banners, you'll be okay. I went without antivirus for years, but now I just run MSSE in the background as it's so light. It's only alerted me to false positives so far, but they're few and far between. I will say that if I'm suspicious of a file (say, a dll I had to g…

It is also possible that you are not aware of the malware in your machine. Many pieces of malware do not require any click whatsoever to install themselves--merely visit the wrong webpage. These types of malware also are typically smarter about hiding their tracks by not dogging the machine's performance, popping banner ads, etc.

To be fair, this was also the case with Flashback. No user action was required other than loading a web pages.

Re: Apple Quietly Pulls Claims of Virus Immunity

#137

Post by pudquick »

SquareWheel wrote: post #96
adgar wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow! 10 years of only using computers operated and actively maintained by users who can stay up-to-date on security best practices. You made it from before XP until now without ever dealing with Windows malware! You're pretty damn lucky - I sometimes use computers that belong to laypeople :-(

It really doesn't take state of the art security, it just takes some healthy skepticism when browsing the web. If you know not to click on flashing red banners, you'll be okay. I went without antivirus for years, but now I just run MSSE in the background as it's so light. It's only alerted me to false positives so far, but they're few and far between. I will say that if I'm suspicious of a file (say, a dll I had to g…

... And not having Java loaded in your browser and/or using Internet Explorer. The number of CVEs related to Java file execution vulnerabilities astounds me on a monthly basis.

If you want to do one thing to ensure your machine stays secure, don't browse with Java enabled. I can't tell you how many countless sites our users find when a new Java vulnerability appears.

Malware writers seed countless sites with things like the Blackhole exploit kit on improperly protected blogs with decent search rank - landmines waiting for the next unsuspecting Windows user.

- signed "someone who has dealt with more infections than he cares for"

Re: Apple Quietly Pulls Claims of Virus Immunity

#138

Post by GeneralMaximus »

thebigshane wrote: post #63

Can anyone here speak to the risk to FreeBSD (or other BSDs)? As MacOS becomes more of a target, how much more vulnerable does FreeBSD become?

OS X != FreeBSD. It has a bunch of userland tools that are ported over from FreeBSD, and IIRC a large part of the network stack is from FreeBSD, but that doesn't mean OS X itself is FreeBSD.

Re: Apple Quietly Pulls Claims of Virus Immunity

#139

Post by SquareWheel »

pudquick wrote: post #137
SquareWheel wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really doesn't take state of the art security, it just takes some healthy skepticism when browsing the web. If you know not to click on flashing red banners, you'll be okay. I went without antivirus for years, but now I just run MSSE in the background as it's so light. It's only alerted me to false positives so far, but they're few and far between. I will say that if I'm suspicious of a file (say, a dll I had to g…

... And not having Java loaded in your browser and/or using Internet Explorer. The number of CVEs related to Java file execution vulnerabilities astounds me on a monthly basis. If you want to do one thing to ensure your machine stays secure, don't browse with Java enabled. I can't tell you how many countless sites our users find when a new Java vulnerability appears. Malware writers seed countless sites with things l…

I disable Flash/Java and have websites ask to enable them. I look forward to when all browsers make this the default.

Re: Apple Quietly Pulls Claims of Virus Immunity

#140

Post by Mythbusters »

reidmain wrote: post #122
barista wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> When I switch someone over to Mac I take the opportunity Why only after switching? Is it not simpler to teach them these before switching? Wonder how much effect it will have if they did all those things regarding being careful clicking buttons and protecting personal information without switching.

The problem was that they were so ingrained with the Windows experience that they were resistant to change. They had their way of doing things and whenever I presented them with alternatives they would refuse to change, no matter how I presented it. Textbook examples were things like switching from Internet Explorer 6 to Firefox. They just would refuse to adapt. When I switched them over to Mac they treated it like a…

Whoever introduced computers to these folks probably wasn't careful to tell them what to be careful about. As long as people mess with the local computer, it's possible to recover (in most cases) But being on the internet is whole other thing.

I wouldn't necessarily blame Microsoft here. If anything, I feel much more comfortable letting my dad use windows 7. Microsoft massively improved their Security record after a few embarrassing incidents with Windows XP.

My only message to my dad was: as long as you don't download anything, it's relatively easy to stay away from viruses.

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