Security experts predict rise in cyber threats against Apple devices in 2016

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 35

    eldernorm said:
    Most of all Mac malware requires either access to the machine, access to a flash drive you are going to use, or really stupid user behavior (yes I want to see actress  xxxxx nude!!!  even though I never asked for this posting...)  .

    There are NO viruses in the wild (ok, not really and Apple has been super great patching any noted holes in the system very quickly.  

    Just saying here. 

    Not so much. There was at least one vulnerability (a fairly big one) in 10.10 that Apple "won't fixed" because the fix was in 10.11, except 10.11 was still in beta and several weeks from release at that point. 

    And I'm sorry if it hurts feelings, but OS X malware is a thing. Not huge, but it exists. 
    malware is a thing for any system where a user can be tricked into doing something the software can't do on its own. 

    OS X viruses in the wild is not a thing. 
    edited December 2015 magman1979
  • Reply 22 of 35
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,328member
    The statements Symantec makes about Apple are true of every platform on the planet. If you have something worth stealing somebody is going to try to steal it. This is a simple fact and there are a multitude of state sponsored and individual cyber criminals devoted to prodding every potential vulnerability that can be imagined, including insider bad actors. This is the nature of the world we live in today. Either you've been hacked or you're going to be hacked. Singling out Apple is disengenuous. You could put ANY company or government agency name in place of Apple and the same broad generalizations would apply, like "Symantec" or "NSA" or "McDonalds."
  • Reply 23 of 35
    idreyidrey Posts: 647member
    Symantec: we predict 2016 is going to be a bad year for Apple ecosystem security. Are you worry about the future of your Mac's security? Are you worry Apple won't do enough to protect you? Well worry no more, because do we have the product for you! Introducing Symantec security for Mac and IOS. For a low, low cost of $99.99 a year you will have peace of mind, guaranteed. Just go to our website and find out how we can keep you safe. 
  • Reply 24 of 35
    idrey said:
    Symantec: we predict 2016 is going to be a bad year for Apple ecosystem security. Are you worry about the future of your Mac's security? Are you worry Apple won't do enough to protect you? Well worry no more, because do we have the product for you! Introducing Symantec security for Mac and IOS. For a low, low cost of $99.99 a year you will have peace of mind, guaranteed. Just go to our website and find out how we can keep you safe. 
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    edited December 2015 magman1979
  • Reply 25 of 35
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    sog35 said:
    Total and utter bullshit.

    This is just an ad to sell their spyware
    So, let's clarify this,
    Apple's ad = good
    everyone else's ad = bad. 
    Here a firm is talking shit about someone else's product (and lying) to hype their own crap product.

    The methodology of this thing is iffy. You really think there were 0 attacks of whatever before 1 year ago... Bullshit. The way the results are presented iffy too.

    Even by those crap numbers, it went from non-existent to a baseline of almost non existence (compared to installed base) with no real growth.

    Also, the number of malware on IOS is so small that one big problem can cause a big temporary spike, a statistical anomaly.

    BTW, Apple usually talks about it's own product; pissing on someone else's product to sell their ware is Samsung's job...



    magman1979
  • Reply 26 of 35
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    foggyhill said:
    sog35 said:
    Total and utter bullshit.

    This is just an ad to sell their spyware
    So, let's clarify this,
    Apple's ad = good
    everyone else's ad = bad. 
    Here a firm is talking shit about someone else's product (and lying) to hype their own crap product.

    The methodology of this thing is iffy. You really think there were 0 attacks of whatever before 1 year ago... Bullshit. The way the results are presented iffy too.

    Even by those crap numbers, it went from non-existent to a baseline of almost non existence (compared to installed base) with no real growth.

    Also, the number of malware on IOS is so small that one big problem can cause a big temporary spike, a statistical anomaly.

    BTW, Apple usually talks about it's own product; pissing on someone else's product to sell their ware is Samsung's job...



    Did you suddenly forget the years and years of the 'I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC' ad campaign? With the cleverly word "I don't get your virus'" making the viewer believe that a Mac cannot ever get a virus. That was cropping on someone else's product, and being deceptive. 
    singularity
  • Reply 27 of 35
    Blaster said:
    How much of that activity is due to government sponsored hacking?
    If the disclosures of Snowden are an accurate guide, the answer is "A LOT".
  • Reply 28 of 35
    technotechno Posts: 737member
    All of my 20 years in Mac IT, I have never seen a Mac actually infected by a virus. I have seen many emails that contain Word attachments with PC viruses. But that is it. In recent years, I have come across Malware/Adware which were relatively benign and easy to remove. However, I consistently hear the "experts" warn of the coming wave of attacks.

    Same with iOS. I hear the doomsayers, but I have yet to encounter any virus or malware on a non jailbroken device. The only exception is perhaps an app that is harvesting data but was eventually discovered.
    cornchip
  • Reply 29 of 35
    http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/09/security-wares-like-kaspersky-av-can-make-you-more-vulnerable-to-attacks/

    Mmmhmm, I think listening to Norton - the MOST worthless virus checker on the planet - is a good thing.
  • Reply 30 of 35
    Did you suddenly forget the years and years of the 'I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC' ad campaign? With the cleverly word "I don't get your virus'" making the viewer believe that a Mac cannot ever get a virus. That was cropping on someone else's product, and being deceptive. 
    You highlighted the emphasis word.

    A Mac CANNOT in anyway shape or form get a Windows virus. It's 100% impossible unless the Mac is in Bootcamp or Parallels and even then they can't really do anything but corrupt files on the Mac side.

    But then that's what backups are for aren't they?
  • Reply 31 of 35
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    Did you suddenly forget the years and years of the 'I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC' ad campaign? With the cleverly word "I don't get your virus'" making the viewer believe that a Mac cannot ever get a virus. That was cropping on someone else's product, and being deceptive. 
    You highlighted the emphasis word.

    A Mac CANNOT in anyway shape or form get a Windows virus. It's 100% impossible unless the Mac is in Bootcamp or Parallels and even then they can't really do anything but corrupt files on the Mac side.

    But then that's what backups are for aren't they?
    Of course it can't get a virus made for Windows, but the way it's worded leads the viewer to believe it can't get a virus period. While it's much more difficult to infect a Mac it's not impossible. 
  • Reply 32 of 35
    The only real "malware" I've encountered on Mac's over the last few years has been that nasty little MacKeeper BS... It's shown up on about a half-dozen Mac's that have come to my bench over 2 years. It's a bit tricky to eliminate, but can be done manually without any A/V software. Worst side effects is it's a resource hog and installs browser redirects into Safari for the most part.

    Other than this, there are no real threats in the wild to Mac's. I've had a few Mac users duped into running Avast and Sophos A/V on their Mac's, significantly slowing them down. I got rid of it, and instead installed the on-request only BitDefender from the MAP, and re-inforced their Safari with AdBlock+ and Ghostery, more than enough protection.
  • Reply 33 of 35
    Did you suddenly forget the years and years of the 'I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC' ad campaign? With the cleverly word "I don't get your virus'" making the viewer believe that a Mac cannot ever get a virus. That was cropping on someone else's product, and being deceptive. 
    You highlighted the emphasis word.

    A Mac CANNOT in anyway shape or form get a Windows virus. It's 100% impossible unless the Mac is in Bootcamp or Parallels and even then they can't really do anything but corrupt files on the Mac side.

    But then that's what backups are for aren't they?
    Of course it can't get a virus made for Windows, but the way it's worded leads the viewer to believe it can't get a virus period. While it's much more difficult to infect a Mac it's not impossible. 
    How does "I don't get your virus" give the impression that Macs can't get viruses?

    Incidentally there are no recorded incidents of Macs getting viruses in the wild. There are only proof of concept viruses and even then they can only kill the user's profiles not the system.

    Malware and viruses are two different things although viruses are under the malware umbrella.

    There are recorded malware for the Mac out there however the vast majority required non-updated versions of OS X and/or user interaction.
    Solicornchip
  • Reply 34 of 35
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    eldernorm said:
    Most of all Mac malware requires either access to the machine, access to a flash drive you are going to use, or really stupid user behavior (yes I want to see actress  xxxxx nude!!!  even though I never asked for this posting...)  .

    There are NO viruses in the wild (ok, not really and Apple has been super great patching any noted holes in the system very quickly.  

    Just saying here. 


    I have to agree, it has been a very long time since I saw some sort of virus or worm or hack for the mac which did any real damage and did not required you to do something on your end.


    Now a day, nothing gets installed on my computer unless I know exactly where is came from. I can not tell you how many time I get directed to some website based on a google search for something which automatically download some file which you know contains some bad stuff. Only once did I fall for this, I was searching for a plugin or something for a program I use, and Google top listing was a website which appeared to be a download page for the software and I clicked on it and installed only to find out it loaded my machine up with all sorts of nasty stuff. It installs without letting you know what it is doing. I had to got to the Console and see where files were put so I could delete them all. This is when I personally stop using Google since they were enabling hackers to place software on your computer by disguising themselves as a legit website. This is what you need to protect against.

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