Mac Viruses

andrew xt · October 5, 2002 7:38AM

Are there ANY viruses that attack Mac OS X? Actually, are there any viruses that attack Mac OSs at all? I haven't seen anything for years, which is a good thing.

Mac users just don't seem to have an obsession with trying to wreck each other computers. That's obviously why so many people use PCs, they need something to argue with and take out their aggression on.

Andrew

defiant · October 5, 2002 7:56AM

for Mac OS 10 there are, hmm let's see, uh, ah,

NONE!!!

[ 10-05-2002: Message edited by: Defiant ]</p>

patchouli · October 5, 2002 8:19AM

I've never had a virus with OS X. Then again, I've never had a virus on my PC either (8 years). I guess its because i don't open .exe file attachments from anyone as no one would have any reason to send them to me. My Outlook XP even blocks them from coming in should someone decide to send me one.

I think there are less viruses created for Mac than PC due to lack of interest and a smaller percentage (logically). The virus creator's goal is usually to have the virus spread and talked about - quickly. It's more logical to do this on the platform which 95% of the computer world uses. I think it's naive to think that Mac OS is inherently immune to viruses in that respect. Though I am sure OS X is far less vulnerable than Windows when it comes to security holes, etc.

smithjoel · October 5, 2002 10:38AM

I don't know if it would effect OS X, but I had the Linux slapper worm. Since it targets OpenSSL, I don't see why OS would be imune (there is a BSD derivitive of it).

giaguara · October 5, 2002 10:42AM

Never had any in OS X.

Neither in Linux.

In Windows i had 3 but it didnt matter so much because anyway i formatted it at least once a month so they did nothing <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />

Some twats keep on sending the windows viruses, all those .exe and .vbs and other stuff. a couple of times i have answered "Thank you a lot for the virus but could you please send a Linux compatible version of it? I don't use Windows" <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />

andrew xt · October 5, 2002 11:38AM

Are the really nasty windows viruses that open themselves and are COMPLETELY unstoppable, even if you restart (like the chicken virus) just myths?

Anyway, if anything like that ever happened in X, you could just restart in 9 and delete it.

Andrew

Wow, the joys of being on the Mac platform. A smaller userbase does have its benifits.

andrew xt · October 5, 2002 11:52AM

Hey, I just noticed I'm not a juniour member anymore, how did that happen?

ghost_user_name · October 5, 2002 12:22PM

< 50 = Junior Member

>= 50 = Member

stunned · October 5, 2002 12:42PM

hmmmm.... then wat is virex for??

looks like i got busted for signing up for .mac

rick1138 · October 5, 2002 2:05PM

I did hear about an OS X virus a yaer or so ago,I would be surprised if there aren't any others.

splinemodel · October 5, 2002 2:24PM

I've actually read that there are no known viruses for OS X.

I'm tempted to write one, though.

Of course, I couldn't bring myself to write a harmful virus. Probably just a prank that deletes itself after a day.

Nonetheless, another reason why so many viruses are for windows is because they're so easy to write. Windows has so many bugs and holes to exploit that it's very easy to write a virus for it. For example: let's say I'm a developer and I have no gripes with the world, but I prefer Unix and Mac over MS, and I need a Terabyte of storage space. I've been told that, thanks to holes in Windows, it's not hard to take 100MB from everyone on your network. So if you're on a large network, that's an impressive amount of backup space.

And no, I haven't written such a thing, but I do know a guy who did. He never let it loose on the world, though. Just a proof of concept.

chych · October 5, 2002 3:05PM

Hm I was hit by the sevendust virus in <OS X, though I managed to kill it (partly my fault too...), though the strain I had wasn't threatening. Bastard corrupted the resource forks of every program I opened...

andrew xt · October 6, 2002 4:54AM

I had a quick look into this and apparently there are hardly any, or no Mac OS X Viruses, but it is very popular with hackers at the moment, so be careful, it's probably best to buy a firewall.

I can't help worrying it would be very easy to do something very nasty to X with a virus, with the easily accessible unix based core that controls everything, but as I said before, Mac users just don't seem to be interested in wrecking each others computers... Which is nice...

Andrew

chych · October 6, 2002 12:51PM

A virus in X can only really wreak havoc/gain access to the system if you are logged in as root, or you tell it what the root password is, otherwise nothing has permissions to change all those system files. Your ~/ may get all screwed up, but all you need to do is log in as another user and clean the infected parts (as the virus will only be restrcited to one user).

Anyways that's how I understand it.

andrew xt · October 7, 2002 11:22AM

I don't have a router or server or ethernet-rerouted junction block, just Mac OS X and a DSL modem. So do I have firewall software? If so what do I do to set it up?

Andrew

ghost_user_name · October 7, 2002 11:39AM

[quote]Originally posted by Andrew Xt:

<strong>So do I have firewall software?</strong><hr></blockquote>If you have OSX, you have firewall software.

If you're using 10.2, you can enable and configure it in the Sharing pane of the System Preferences. Edit the ports for the incoming services you want to allow, click start, and you're done!

That interface is not sufficient for my needs, though. So, I use BrickHouse. BrickHouse is a free program that is simply a front-end to offer more advanced customization of Apple's built-in firewall software. Most people won't need the advanced features of BrickHouse, but I find its extra abilities like blocking *outgoing* traffic and deny logs to be helpful in diagnosingÂ*software issues. In fact, most Mac users don't need a firewall AT ALL because Mac OS doesn't leave open ports hanging around like some Windows systems are known to do.

If you're wary about your Mac's security, try one of the free port scan services like Shields Up! from grc.com. The Shields Up! test give results as Stealth, Closed, and Open. If you are running a server, certain ports MUST be open, of course. If you're just a casual user with no incoming services enabled (like file sharing, ftp, ssh, telnet, etc), then everything should be closed. Closed ports are perfectly safe. The difference between closed and stealth is that the latter completely ignores all traffic to make it appear as though your computer doesn't even exist.

[ 10-07-2002: Message edited by: Brad ]</p>

Mac Viruses

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