The reason for Macscan is to sell unnecessary software to uneducated Mac users. Currently there is not a single Mac OS X virus, Trojan, or spyware application. Maybe tomorrow, but not today, but today is not over yet. 
This was last year, but (educated #-o) Mac users will undoubtly claim it’s a hoax 
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I think you need to look harder. There aren’t very many Mac viruses and there are many more Windows viruses, but if 90% of the world’s PCs were Macs I can assure you there would be many more Mac viruses. The spammers, scammers, etc wouldn’t want to miss out on their marketing techniques just because of a little thing like the Mac OS.
The unfortunate thing is that if/when the first realy virulent Mac virus lands, most Mac users will deny there’s an issue because as everyone knows the Mac is invincible. 99% of Mac users won’t be able to do anything about it anyway because there is very little Mac AV software available and the little that exists isn’t needed because as everyone knows the Mac is invincible. As a result it will rapidly run through huge numbers of Macs causing untold damage on it’s way. It will probably take months to kill off and clean up due to the lack of suitable tools to do that with (and the time taken to overcome the Mac users “it can’t happen here” mindset).
First rule of computer security…always expect the unexpected
Chris, any chance of a WD for Mac Board on the forum cheers :mopedsmile:
There’s a cunning plan about that. All may (or may not) become apparent in time.
Uh, I’ve had friends that had Macs…and it’s obvious Macs are far from as perfect as most Mac-heads will lead you to believe. Yes Virginia, they crash too.
No thanks I wouldn’t wish a Mac on my parents, no way.
Yeap, not a virus, but a worm, See: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/index.php?p=100
The important part of the article was:
There was a story circulating this week that The First Virus For Mac OS X had arrived, but it turned out to only be a relatively innocuous worm embedded in a file called “latestpics.tgz” promising pictures of “MacOS X Leopard.” The worm required the user to download, decompress and execute the file then enter their admin password to cause any damage.
There were no reports of this “worm” actually being in the wild and infecting any systems as far as I have ever read about.
There are no OS X viruses. It’s not not many, the number is exactly zero. Note I don’t say Mac’s are not ever going to get a virus or Trojan. Right now there are zero OS X viruses.
Tomorrow may be different, but that’s how it is right now. Mac’s are not impervious to viruses, Trojans, etc. They can even crash on occasion. You can claim security through obscurity if you must, (which is another common misconception based on market share), but even that doesn’t matter. The bottom line is no OS X viruses today.
Hey guys, remember, no religious discussions here :lol:
If they only use only one user profile in Windows, give OutPost a try @ http://www.agnitum.com/products/outpost/ Not sure if its Vista compatible as I haven’t used it in some time. You would have to configure your WD stuff manually, otherwise my parents have no problems with it… so far
This post isn’t intended to be anti-Mac. As some people will know, my interactions with Macs have not been sweetness and light. I fully accept that some people see them as the best thing since sliced bread for doing what they want to do, although once the EU work out that there’s a Mac monopoly in graphics design I forsee an EU Mac Tax which works just like the EU Windows Tax #-o What does irritate me is that some Mac users treat me as an idiot for not liking the Mac, rather than accepting that I don’t do most of the things that a Mac is supposed to excel at and that a PC does what I want to do 99.99% of the time and at a lower cost. I don’t do graphics design. I don’t do iTunes. I don’t edit full length feature films. I don’t podcast or podlisten.
Anyway…for most people the subtelty of the differences between a virus, worm, trojan and spyware are irrelevant. It’s all malware and who cares what it’s called if it causes you problems?
A huge number of the tens of thousands of non-Mac viruses are also proof of concept and have never been seen in the wild. Many items of malware also require users to do stupid things, but people do stupid things allowing it to spread without difficulty. Unfortunately stupidity is a human trait and isn’t just limited to Windows users 
Serious malware, i.e. not script kiddies, is primarily driven by organised crime. There is little point in them trying to write Mac malware to attack 10% of a market when they can write Windows malware for 90% of the market…and yes the fact that the way some people use Windows (particularly older versions) makes Windows easier to attack. I’m not sure where the misconception is about security through low market share has been debunked. I’ve seen it said on a regular basis, by far more knowledegable people than me, and it seems to make sense. If 90% of houses have poor security and no burgular alarm, only very hardened criminals who know there’s something very valuable inside a house with good security and an alarm will try to break in. Petty thieves will attack the insecure houses with no alarms. Anyway Mac users should be glad that there is such a huge Windows population out there protecting them from malware
I hate malware of any sort and indeed any and all malicious activities which affect computers of any type (yes that includes Macs ). I have to deal with systems security (and that’s more than just viruses, trojans, worms, etc) on a day by day basis at work, at home and for my Internet servers. I waste a lot of my life doing that and would far prefer the people who carry out such activities to do other more useful things with their lives. I run a training course at work to give new starters their first overview of system security. A lot of it is basic stuff about viruses, spyware, trojans, phishing, spam, etc, and explain that this is just as much a problem for their home PCs as our work systems (and probably more of a problem at home considering what we do to protect our systems). I can tell by their faces that a few are aware of the issue and have done something about it…but a lot of them haven’t a clue that they have a problem at home. Hopefully I’ve enlightened a few users and have made the world a slightly safer place, but it worries me how little most users (of any type of system) really know or care about this problem. What does worry me though is the fact that some Mac users have an arrogance about it. “Look how bad the Windows world is, it can never happen to us.”
I use both. Prefer windows for many tasks and macs for others.
What does concern me about the recent development with intel giving th ability to run mac and windows using boot camp or similar software, surely if using the windows platform, the machine is vulnerable to all the normal windows malware without the necessary protection.
Lets also remember that some problems are not OS related and you can get caught no matter what OS you use if you are one of the millions of users that surf the net and use email in blissfull ignorance.
This is what happend at work yesterday. I received an email from an irate person saying that my company had scammed him for money and his personal details. I asked him how this had happened and he sent me a copy of an email that had been sent to him from a yahoo mail account. The email had been formated using the graphics from my company website all that was different was that the tel numbers had been changed and the contact email had been changed. At the bottom there is the text that he had won a prize (yes here we go). He had called the number they had asked him for a copyof his passport (to prove who he was) and his bank details. He had given these without thought and now his bank account had been emptied!!! (suprise).
So because he is an idiot its my companys fault…what can I say.
This had been reported to Yahoo but from past experiance I do not hold out much hope.
Steve
Computers are only tools, you use whatever tool you feel best meets your particular needs. You think Windows is the best tool for you, I think a Mac works best for me. Opinions are like belly buttons, everyone has one.
Mac users don’t need the “huge Windows population” to throw themselves on their swords to protect the Mac’s. We’re doing pretty well right now and not because of the perceived protection of the Windows population.
I don’t think I have read anything here saying Mac’s were bullet proof. They have their share of problems, luckily viruses, worms, spyware and Trojans are not things we have to deal with right now. Heaven knows I’ve never had a Windows guy tell me I’ve paid way to much or how much more software Windows has, etc, etc. Duh! Don’t think I know you can build a PC for a few hundred bucks, or buy a Dell for $399.00?
When they tell me about Mac viruses,worms, spyware, Trojans i wonder where they get their misinformation from. usually it’s from some company selling virus,protection programs. Those companies just put out FUD to get people to buy their product. They have a vested interest in telling Mac users about all the horrible things lucking out there on the internet so they will purchase their products.
Bottom line right now is there are no Mac OS X viruses, worms, spyware, or Trojans. Mac problems from these items zero.
The original question was if someone got rid of Norton IS what should he get to replace it for his parents. Since Mac’s currently have no problems with viruses, worms, spyware, or Trojans a Mac would be one choice.
In your case you’re obviously fine with Windows and would recommend one of the many great virus, worm, spyware and Trojan protection programs required by Windows users.
Geez, enough already. Say it enough and someone here will make a Mac virus, worm, spyware, or trojan just to prove you wrong.
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