Dec. 3, 2008 - Macs Have Viruses too—Yes it is True

Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate Agent

I have seen countless posts and conversations with people that make the claim that somehow Mac's are more secure than a PC and are immune to viruses. Nothing could be further from the truth. Now the current Mac OS is built upon Unix and thus possibly more secure in a roundabout way that is far too complicated to explain here but through Apple's own advertising they have continued to mislead the public on this subject. I don't want to get into security vulnerabilities as a whole because the topic is so vast and so subjective that there is no clear answer.

But when it comes to viruses a Mac is no more secure than a PC. In fact the widely held belief that Macs are immune to viruses could lead to a massive infection. I don't know percentage wise of how many Mac users also use an Antivirus program but I would guess that it is a rather low percentage. Whereas a larger percentage of Windows users probably use an AV program but fewer still keep it updated or even the subscription current which in addition to failure to update Windows security leads to the spread of viruses.

One of the reasons why virus manufacturers focus on Windows machines is because they are more prevalent. Sure they have more holes arguably but they have more people poking holes at them. Until Macs started making up a larger market share there simply was more bang for your buck going after Windows machines.

Here are some links explaining this in more detail:

http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/12/02/apple-says-several-antivirus-apps-necessary-to-protect-macs

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple_knowledge_base_article_advocates_use_of_multiple_antiviral_programs/

Here is a virus (trojan):

http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/11/19/another-variant-of-rsplug-trojan-for-mac-pops-up

Here is an update to this story that appeared today:

http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/12/03/apples-virus-support-page-disappears-over-misunderstanding

The page on the Apple website was actually taken down sometime last night. If you notice in the last article it seems there was a mistake and this was originally posted last year. So all the way back in 2007 Apple was trying to prepare people for the inevitable that viruses would hit Macs and was trying to warn everyone to use an AV program in defense.

In defense of Apple there was this story:

http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/12/03/osx-rsplug-e-trojan-variant-goes-after-criminally-ignorant

It basically argues that you would have to be stupid to infect yourself with that virus since it requires you to be tricked into installing something. But isn't that exactly how a lot of Windows users get infected? How is that any different because you are on a Mac? Is that because of the snobby image (I have seen this term used on many sites to describe how some Mac users describe themselves and I am in no way insinuating you are snobby for using a Mac) associated with Mac users that they are somehow smarter than PC users?

Its no wonder that Mac users think they are safe. Apple's own marketing department told them they were:

Lets not forget why they do this:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081125-symantec-underground-cybercrime-economy-booming.html

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081110-study-storm-botnet-brought-in-daily-profits-of-up-to-9500.html

This is BIG business. There is a very big incentive for going after Macs just as there is incentive to go after PCs. Also Linux users better listen up because you are no safer. This isn't just me saying this by the way. I have seen security experts all over the place saying these things for years. As bandwidth increases and the number of computers increase so is the incentive to create more botnets. If competition becomes fierce over Windows machines where do you think they will turn next? Or where do you think they turned?

*Just a note I am not a Mac hater or anything like that. I think they actually are probably better at video editing than PC's are. This article is strictly about safety. If you aren't protected you will not know if you are infected and therefore can spread a virus to another person err I mean computer. (It works the same with computers and people)

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Dec. 3, 2008 - RE: Macs Have Viruses too—Yes it is True

This is absolutely B.S.

For some reason, this person (Shane) seems to want to be a one man band putting out FALSE and erroneous information here and on Active Rain.

I'm not going into all the details here, but you can check out the thread on Active Rain (in regards to a major pain in the @#$@# virus for Windows.)  For some reason,  Shane is trying as hard as he can to put out absolutely FALSE information in regards to supposed viruses for the Mac.  

He is dead wrong in these ridiculous diatribes, but for some reason feels a need to propagate FALSE information to people here and on Active Rain.  

I won't go into it here yet again (as he has), but if you click over the the thread on Active Rain, you can see all the details.

Bottom line is that unless you are a very, very, very, very uneducated computer user, you will NOT get a virus on a Mac. You also do NOT need virus protection on a Mac.  Period.  I've used Macs for a quarter of a century 7 days a week  (my BUSINESS is on a Mac), and I have been online consistently since 1994.  I have never, ever, ever had a virus, nor do I own anti virus software.  Nor will you probably find ANY Mac user anywhere who has had a crippling virus on a Mac (trust me, it would be BIG news if it happened).  

The people who like to scare people about Mac viruses are people that SELL anti virus software and, for some reason, Shane.  Shane is NOT a Mac user, I am, so I feel I'm a bit more qualified to speak of Mac viruses than someone who has never owned a Mac.

Dec. 4, 2008 - RE: Macs Have Viruses too—Yes it is True

Well lets see here.

One of my jobs prior to getting into Real Estate was in fact working on security and maintaining both PCs and Macs in a business here. So yes I do have experience working with them and maintaining them.

Next I am not sure how you can debate anything that I have said here since not only have I completely and thoroughly documented everything I have said, I have also clearly provided counterarguments in defense of Apple as well.

If you had actually bothered to read what I wrote here or Active Rain you would clearly have seen that I have provided strong evidence for what I am saying.

Not to mention the fact that one of those links explains how Apple themselves was the one saying this. So if you have an issue with what I am saying I would take it up with Apple since it was directly from one of their security memos. In fact as I pointed out this “note” or whatever you want to call it came out in 2007 so this isn't exactly new.

Also I am not a one man band since I provided a variety of sources. This is not my information I am merely condensing and providing it for others.

In addition this really is rather irritating since I have said here and on Active Rain basically the same information and in both places you have chosen to ignore it and immediately jump to your own conclusions.

Furthermore as you point out "Bottom line is that unless you are a very, very, very, very uneducated computer user, you will NOT get a virus on a Mac." Which was one of my counterpoints in favor of Mac security which you also chose to ignore. I also pointed out that this is the same argument that many have adopted in relation to Windows and viruses and one of the main reasons for their propagation. People think it won't happen to them and guess what? It does.

I am really bewildered how you came to any of the conclusions that you did. None of the articles I provided were written by Antivirus software companies. I also provided a link to a real virus that affects Macs. I have not only used Macs, I have worked on maintenance and security as well. Also if you bothered to read my blog you would see that I have provided valuable computer and technology advice on a variety of different subjects including both Macs and PCs etc. I have never written anything that I have not well documented to back up my opinions. If you do not agree with my opinion that is fine, but when I provide clear evidence to support my ideas the least you could do is read what I have provided first and then participate in the debate. There are millions of people worldwide that have used PCs all their lives but that certainly does not make them experts or even probably knowledgeable about security, hardware or software issues.