Over half a million Macs infected

[peteyt]

That's usually where the virus sets up a proxy in your internet settings which makes everything appear normal but actually running all sorts through your system and redirecting you to other insecure sites in order to spread the nastiness. It does require infection to have happened previously though, it's not something you can just pick up from Google

I can't remember where I read it but I'm sure a big bug was found with something in the way URLs where handled themselves or something. It was in some computing magazine I think.

[Conspiracy.]

http://gizmodo.com/5899352/mac-flash...00000-infected

I'm clean. I've also installed the "Java for OS X 2012-002" update.

Once there's a new infection on the loose for Mac everyone knows about it. There are new Windows viruses/malware/spyware/trojans everyday. I feel safer with my Mac, the statistics prove why.

[Tomm]

Well considering Oracle patched Java to fix the issue that this virus exploited back in Febuary but it has taken Apple until now to patch the Mac OS X version of Java I would not be so confident especially when this could of been avoided so easily by Apple.

http://gizmodo.com/5899352/mac-flash...00000-infected

I'm clean. I've also installed the "Java for OS X 2012-002" update.

Once there's a new infection on the loose for Mac everyone knows about it. There are new Windows viruses/malware/spyware/trojans everyday. I feel safer with my Mac, the statistics prove why.

[Accipiter]

Quite frankly I think Mac's are generally for lazy people, you can buy a windows computer for half the price of a mac with the same quality, and you get a sense of achievement when you actually keep it running at speed.

All you do with a mac is boot it up, and have far to many ways to execute 1 command, the only praise I give mac's is for its Media Software. It took a backwards step with wireless keyboards and mice, can't stand the things!

[Mollie]

Well this is really unheard of aha. I keep hearing from mac-owners that they are completely untouchable, virus wise. But hey, I suppose they've been proven wrong! Good.

[Conspiracy.]

Like I've said in other threads I CAN use Windows and I KNOW how to protect them. I just prefer the Mac OS in general. I just find Windows awkward to use :/ it shouldn't feel that half-arsed.

[GommeInc]

I actually partly disagree. While most viruses are easy to spot there are rare cases - I heard of a problem at one point that could mean going to a domain like google.com could take you somewhere completely different can't remember what it was though.

I mean take browser bugs for example - you can be as secure as you want avoiding dangerous sites and avoiding clicking certain files and links but if there's a security hole in the software you are using that has yet to be identified there's a chance things could go bad.

Hence why I said computers, not browsers That said, browser loopholes like browser hijacks which I think are the ones you are describing are easy to avoid and not necessarily harmful unless you click the suggestions the fake websites supply. I think one example is called the search-nu.com hijack, which isn't a virus but can lead to them if you're not vigilant or careful with what sites you click on. It's like people calling this Mac issue a virus, when it's a malware/Trojan issue which is very different - or that's what I'm led to believe by The Guardian and the BBC

[Recursion]

Apple's history of waiting for large updates to be released onto Software Update before they roll out security updates doesn't particularly fill me with confidence. Apple just seems to take security as a secondary "we have to do this because we're told to" sort of thing imo.

[aidant]

Macs are all java, really easy to write viruses for.. thats when you know java well and when you know all the OSX java includes. My copy of windows 7 i have had for 3 years without any antivirus protection, and ive never had a virus. In fact viruses on windows are quite rare now days, you will only get them on torrents or illegal things.. So if you get one basically you where on a bad site (remember you have to approve a program before it can run on windows 7 therefor not allowing viruses to run and company sites will not have viruses). Macs have had many viruses in the past, there just not known to the public due to apples advertising the fact they "have none". Truth is macs are very likley to get a virus, in fact a few years ago my uncle got one and his computer no longer worked.. macs have no bios so he was unable to fix it. Apple would not give him a new mac and they could not fix it. He ended up spending £2000 just to buy a new mac for his work, and he had to redo everything he had done on his old mac because your unable to get harddrives out of them.

What my rant is saying is, no os is save from viruses no matter what the creator says. People just believe what they say because they have little computer knowledge.

[Accipiter]

Macs are all java, really easy to write viruses for.. thats when you know java well and when you know all the OSX java includes. My copy of windows 7 i have had for 3 years without any antivirus protection, and ive never had a virus. In fact viruses on windows are quite rare now days, you will only get them on torrents or illegal things.. So if you get one basically you where on a bad site (remember you have to approve a program before it can run on windows 7 therefor not allowing viruses to run and company sites will not have viruses). Macs have had many viruses in the past, there just not known to the public due to apples advertising the fact they "have none". Truth is macs are very likley to get a virus, in fact a few years ago my uncle got one and his computer no longer worked.. macs have no bios so he was unable to fix it. Apple would not give him a new mac and they could not fix it. He ended up spending £2000 just to buy a new mac for his work, and he had to redo everything he had done on his old mac because your unable to get harddrives out of them.

What my rant is saying is, no os is save from viruses no matter what the creator says. People just believe what they say because they have little computer knowledge.

I'm pretty sure you can open the BIOS on a mac by holding the cmd key and p or something on boot up...

I also think if you just insert the MAC Disc that comes with it that opens on the bios if you put it in