4 ms·

Most Windows viruses these days have the exact same attack vector, simply tricking the user into installing them. All we're seeing here is that: (1) Despite th

• jonhohle 15y ago
  > and hopefully the antimalware situation on OS X will improve before progressively I don't think antimalware is anything I'd ever want to run on a computer I control. Unfortunately, I think we're being pushed into a world where all applications are vetted and purchased through a trusted marketplace, eliminating this vector.
  • Niten 15y ago
    > I don't think antimalware is anything I'd ever want to run on a computer I control. Why not? I mean this as an honest question. EDIT: If you're concerned about performance or system resources, try a PC with MSE sometime, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how unobtrusive good antimalware can be.
    • danssig 15y ago
      Have you ever ran a windows machine without all this stupid virus/malware software running? It's dramatically faster. Anti-malware/virus software was a stupid road to go down, the proper solution is to have better security on the machine.
      • JonoW 15y ago
        I run MSE, I barely notice it speed wise, and haven't had any malware or viruses. On your comment: > the proper solution is to have better security on the machine. Strongly disagree; if you look at this MacDefender issue, there is no flaw in OSX that is causing infection, users are installing it on their own accord. But what anti-malware/virus software can do here is warn or prevent the user from installing this in the first place, as it should detect the virus/malware signature. This is why you need it even if the underlying OS is secure, to try protect users from themselves.
        • danssig 15y ago
          >I run MSE, I barely notice it speed wise, and haven't had any malware or viruses. I run several things on both Windows and Mac. The Mac version feels a lot faster. If I shut off all the virus stuff the windows stuff is still slower but not as dramatic. It depends on what the code does, obviously. Any disk or network read/writes take a hit so if you're doing a lot of those it really adds up. >Strongly disagree; if you look at this MacDefender issue, there is no flaw in OSX that is causing infection, users are installing it on their own accord. The solution to this is what Apple has already started doing: provide just one place for these kinds of people to get software. Just buy it in the App store. That is the proper approach to "protect users from themselves", not put a 20-30% performance penalty on all Macs.
          • JonoW 15y ago
            On the speed front, I'm talking specifically about MSE (that I don't notice it's affect) - I've had bad experiences with Norton grinding my PC down, horrible invasive product that one! Can't comment on Mac v PC speed impact. I agree with you on the App Store front, think it will help to reduce viruses/malware (I think Windows 8 app store will be a huge win too), but it's unlikely that an app store will be the sole place to get software for some time to come. So until it's impossible to manually install software off the internet, I think we're going to need anti-malware/virus software.
            • danssig 15y ago
              I would leave it as is. After people get viruses from downloading software a few times and are told they should have used the app store they will switch soon enough. Virus software is a horrible patch that enables users to continue bad behavior.
      • kmfrk 15y ago
        That's a big and undeserved generalization. I am totally on board with the fact that there are some programs that do this - Norton's suite of anti-malware programs is basically regarded as malware itself. And it even comes preinstalled on a lot of computers. But other programs work without a hitch. Flashblock (or AdBlock/Ad Muncher/NoScript) also slows down my browser, but I can't be annoyed at an infinitesimal allocation of my resources to the extension.
        • danssig 15y ago
          Invalid comparison. AdBlock is most likely using less resources than the ads it blocks. Virus scanners are overhead on all stream operations.
    • Groxx 15y ago
      For my purposes, MSE has been a very large resource hog at inopportune moments. I've taken to shutting it down any time I do anything which touches a lot of files or simply consumes a lot of CPU - the speed difference is often easily visible. This, for a product which hasn't found a single thing on any of my machines. Ever. It's great that they offer it, but it has been worthless for my use.
      • lyso 15y ago
        This may be a little snarky, but, as Homer Simpson put it: "Well, you bought all those smoke alarms, and we haven't had a single fire!"
        • Groxx 15y ago
          For viruses alone, I had been running McAfee's business edition (my school provided it). That was generally far less of a resource hog when doing something that needed compute power.
    • sigzero 15y ago
      Because you can't really protect the user from their own stupidity.
• tjogin 15y ago
  I'm so tired of this strawman. The Mac was never "magically immune" to malware. Just because technically challenged people believe that doesn't make it true, and there is no reason for us to "disprove" it with great fanfare every chance we get.
  • Goronmon 15y ago
    But aren't Macs billed as computers for "technically challenged" people? If a large portion of them believe they are getting a "magically immune" machine, wouldn't it make sense to try to remind them that this is not actually the case?
    • guptaneil 15y ago
      Ironically, if they actually did believe that to be the case, the MacDefender trojan would have never been an issue.
• podperson 15y ago
  By definition a "virus" does not have this "attack vector". A virus spreads with no conscious user intervention. This is a "trojan" -- something the user inflicts on themselves, and neither the Mac nor Windows have any real protection against trojans. Mac OS X 10.6 has virus detection built into the OS. Only a couple of viruses are detected because, oddly enough, that's all that have been found. Again, "viruses" not "trojans". Most "anti-virus" software is worse than malware on its own -- it slows down the computer it's used on. Microsoft Windows, out of the box, will shut down your computer without asking you, quitting out of applications on the way. This, again, is exactly the kind of thing malware does.
  • skymt 15y ago
    Well if you want to get pedantic, a "virus" spreads by infecting legitimate executables, a technique that hasn't been viable since the days of "Don't Copy That Floppy". In everyday use, the word "virus" is synonymous with "malware" and almost always refers to a trojan or drive-by.
    • podperson 15y ago
      The difference between a virus and a worm has become blurred, since both spread without user intervention. But there's no such blurring with trojans.
  • isleyaardvark 15y ago
    > and neither the Mac nor Windows have any real protection against trojans. It is impossible for any operating system to prevent trojans. As long as the person at the keyboard has admin access, no matter how convoluted the process, they can install whatever malicious program they want. The only defense is education and awareness.
• emehrkay 15y ago
  Isn't there a windows defect (that coves all versions) that will execute a file just by viewing it in the file browser?