RE: FN-FORUM: Mac vs PC

date posted 21st January 2006 18:56

The analogy is that just because there are "no mac viruses" does NOT =
mean that you won't be the first to catch one when one appears. As =
you're running with no A/V software you won't know if you've got one. =
Good luck...

Are you trying to suggest that Mcafee and others create A/V software =
even though it'd go... "opening file... Checking virus list... Ooo, no =
viruses in my virus list... Let file opening continue..."

A virus is something that can replicate. Who's to say that if you =
download the latest plugin for firefox and it has a vulnerability in it =
(or worse that because it's open source somebody modifies it for =
nefarious purposes and you happen to download the "bad" version of it) =
that it won't act as a virus or trojan or spyware or backdoor.

At the end of the day, at the moment, all you have is a trust that =
anything you install or copy onto your Mac is legitimate, has no =
"viruses", spyware, malware or anyother type of ware you can imagine.

At least with "antivirus" software you might catch it before you send it =
on to somebody else even if it doesn't affect you.

And to be completely hipocritical... I don't have any A/V software =
running on my iBook either ;)



-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL REMOVED] [EMAIL REMOVED] On Behalf Of =
Richard Quick
Sent: 21 January 2006 19:04
To: Andy Macnaughton-Jones
Subject: Re: FN-FORUM: Mac vs PC


> Please excuse the very crude analogy, but that's like saying, I've=20
> sh&gged a load of slappers without any protection and I've not caught=20
> anything.

No it's not.

> It's people like you that cause the spread of viruses because you=20
> don't take suitable precautions to prevent them spreading. And no,=20
> having a Mac is not a suitable precaution...

There are NO cases of genuine OS X viruses in the wild. Therefore any =
anti-virus software can't have a database of them. Therefore IF a virus =
were created it MIGHT catch it.

McCaffee are a company, and therefore I assume their motivation is to =
make a profit. They're offering 'protection' from a perceived threat.

> Who's to say that the latest desktop widget thing that you've=20
> downloaded and installed hasn't installed some back-door software.
> Yes, the Mac OS asks you when you want to install software, but if you =

> let it then who's to say it's entirely legitimate.

That's not a virus.


Rich Quick
http://www.richardquickdesign.com



On 21 Jan 2006, at 18:41, Andy Macnaughton-Jones wrote:

>
> Please excuse the very crude analogy, but that's like saying, I've=20
> sh&gged a load of slappers without any protection and I've not caught=20
> anything.
>
> It's people like you that cause the spread of viruses because you=20
> don't take suitable precautions to prevent them spreading. And no,=20
> having a Mac is not a suitable precaution...
>
> If there's "no such thing" as Mac viruses, why do companies like=20
> Mcafee make products like this;=20
> http://www.mcafee.com/us/products/mcafee/antivirus/desktop/virex.htm
>
> Do you have a firewall or are your systems wide open ?
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL REMOVED] [EMAIL REMOVED] On Behalf Of=20
> Richard Quick
> Sent: 21 January 2006 17:03
> To: Andy Macnaughton-Jones
> Subject: Re: FN-FORUM: Mac vs PC
>
>
>> It's na=EFve to think that there are no viruses for the Mac - a quick =

>> google search will find references to a number of issues / malware.
>
> OK - put it like this. I've been using my iMac for a year with out=20
> any virus software and it still works just fine. Try doing that with=20
> a PC running IE and see how long it takes for you to get infected.
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>=20
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