you dont get viruses if you are experienced and know what your doing.
or if you use a Mac
Mac's are less susceptible to viruses because no one (not many people) make viruses for macs. i hate that argument.
this is an overused argument. Sure, there are certainly way less mac users, but let me point a few things out.
- apple is the 3rd largest manufacturer of computers in the world. Certainly they're no small player in the business. Billions of people use their machines worldwide. That certainly sounds like enough people to fuck over if there ever was a virus.
- os x has been virus free since inception. That's 5 and a half years of virus free performance. Sure os x isn't perfect, I can never predict the future, there might be viruses on the horizon. The track record speaks for itself, something that can't be disputed. Again, no viruses in 5.5 yrs.
- os x is inherently much more secure built in. Sure, you can secure xp if you know what you're doing, but think about the avg consumer. They neither have the time nor knowledge to adequately do this. Folks can waste a lot less time protecting their macs and just get to doing work. Time = money, time saved = you figure it out.
- wouldn't it vindicate all these pc nerds if there was an actual os x virus. Think about it, for all the vitriol heaped on macs, you'd figure someone out there would've created a mac virus. It would be a pretty prestigious title in the hacking world, but nope, it has not happened. You ever wonder why?
No machine is better, these pc vs mac arguments are RETARDED. 99% of the time they're filled w/ myths and misconceptions. Are macs superior on all accounts, hell no. Are they more user friendly and less stressful, in my experiences yes. Will people still prefer xp because they're adverse to change, YES. You cannot account for personal taste. Some people will prefer macs, some will prefer pc's, depending on their needs. Let's just leave it at that.
For what it's worth, I bought a Dell Inspiron E1405 about 6 months and it's solid and very fast. 1gig of ram and a 100GB hard drive, all for about $1000. Dells used to be pretty weak, but I think they've listened to the feedback and stepped their game up.
regardless of what brand you get, look on review sites to see if there are any specific problems with the model you are planning on purchasing, invest in three year warranty, and upon receiving your laptop, reformat it and reinstall whatever operating system.
i think the whole "mac's have no viruses" argument gives the layperson the false impression that their comp will be bug free.
fe-lo-ne-ous.[/b]
I'm a tech at a recording studio, and I've basically mastered all the start-up hot-keys to resurrect these suckers. ive never run an anti virus software on them (because they are always outta date). so all i do is reformat and the comp acts brand new.
im not saying that these are caused by viruses (im not sure what exactly causes this stuff), but just hear me out. nothing is supposta be recorded on the system disk (its a rare occasion that it does) and nothing is (suposeta to be) saved to the sys disk either. because these machines are open to the internet, i just always assumed the bugginess comes from that.
these pc vs mac arguments are RETARDED. 99% of the time they're filled w/ myths and misconceptions.
huge . it all comes down to pref and money. ive used both platforms, and just like using macs.
my sister's ibook hard drive recently died and i understand why they charge $300 bucks to replace that shit. have any of you guys had to open one of those fuckers up?
my sister's ibook hard drive recently died and i understand why they charge $300 bucks to replace that shit. have any of you guys had to open one of those fuckers up?
- os x has been virus free since inception. That's 5 and a half years of virus free performance. Sure os x isn't perfect, I can never predict the future, there might be viruses on the horizon. The track record speaks for itself, something that can't be disputed. Again, no viruses in 5.5 yrs.
Actually, there has been at least one virus and one trojan/worm. They're not very dangerous, but they do exist. That said, Apple is a lot more pro-active in fixing security holes. Microsoft's starting to do better with security, but they've got a way to go.
- os x has been virus free since inception. That's 5 and a half years of virus free performance. Sure os x isn't perfect, I can never predict the future, there might be viruses on the horizon. The track record speaks for itself, something that can't be disputed. Again, no viruses in 5.5 yrs.
Actually, there has been at least one virus and one trojan/worm. They're not very dangerous, but they do exist. That said, Apple is a lot more pro-active in fixing security holes. Microsoft's starting to do better with security, but they've got a way to go.
no, no viruses on os x. NONE. Another common misconception. Those reports were of vulnerabilities discovered by people that have been quickly patched. That obviously doesn't sell as well as a "First OS X VIRUS" headline, lazy journalism. No virus was ever introduced in the real world anytime those vulnerabilities have been discovered. Trojans are different than viruses.
Again, os x is not perfect, it is not "immune" to viruses. However the track record remains the same, no viruses for 5.5 yrs.
- os x has been virus free since inception. That's 5 and a half years of virus free performance. Sure os x isn't perfect, I can never predict the future, there might be viruses on the horizon. The track record speaks for itself, something that can't be disputed. Again, no viruses in 5.5 yrs.
Actually, there has been at least one virus and one trojan/worm. They're not very dangerous, but they do exist. That said, Apple is a lot more pro-active in fixing security holes. Microsoft's starting to do better with security, but they've got a way to go.
no, no viruses on os x. NONE. Another common misconception. Those reports were of vulnerabilities discovered by people that have been quickly patched. No virus was ever introduced in the real world anytime those vulnerabilities have been discovered. Trojans are different than viruses.
Again, os x is not perfect, it is not "immune" to viruses. However the track record remains the same, no viruses for 5.5 yrs.
aser i believe you, but wasnt there some big apple virus scare earlier this year?
OS X will prompt you for your username/pw when installing any program. For instance, if you were to click on a virus/worm/trojan horse, it will require authentication. Another layer of protection that is not provided by XP. the official techie explanation as follows....
OS X: Software does not automatically inherit the rights of the account in which it is run: software requiring admin privileges must be explicitly granted access by the user, even if the user is already logged in as an admin.
XP: Software automatically inherits the rights of the account in which it is run: since the default XP account is an admin account, software requiring admin privileges in this default account may run without the user's explicit permission.
no, no viruses on os x. NONE. Another common misconception. Those reports were of vulnerabilities discovered by people that have been quickly patched. No virus was ever introduced in the real world anytime those vulnerabilities have been discovered. Trojans are different than viruses.
Actually, someone wrote a proof of concept virus. It's not very effective and it wasn't released into the wild, but it does exist. I agree with you that Apple has been pretty responsive in patching their security holes; I even said so in my last post.
P.S. I like Macs. I run Linux and *BSD, so I'd have to dual or triple-boot if I ever got one.
my point in this thread as always has been, no live viruses in the "real world". Proof of concept is what I explained earlier, vulnerabilities have been exposed. Again, none have infected any computers in the real world, which again means the statement of no viruses in the real world is valid.
OS X is not foolproof, I'll say that for the 3rd time. However, the track record speaks for itself.
my point in this thread as always has been, no live viruses in the "real world". Proof of concept is what I explained earlier, vulnerabilities have been exposed. Again, none have infected any computers in the real world, which again means the statement of no viruses in the real world is valid.
OS X is not foolproof, I'll say that for the 3rd time. However, the track record speaks for itself.
OS X will prompt you for your username/pw when installing any program. For instance, if you were to click on a virus/worm/trojan horse, it will require authentication. Another layer of protection that is not provided by XP. the official techie explanation as follows....
OS X: Software does not automatically inherit the rights of the account in which it is run: software requiring admin privileges must be explicitly granted access by the user, even if the user is already logged in as an admin.
XP: Software automatically inherits the rights of the account in which it is run: since the default XP account is an admin account, software requiring admin privileges in this default account may run without the user's explicit permission.
That's a good point. The user could still enter their user/pass and fall for a Trojan that way, but it makes them think for a second. The only way to deal with trojans is by educating users.
Although, Mandatory Access Controls would probably do the trick also. They have a few problems of their own. Plus, they're only available on Linux and BSD.
yes, but again my point is, a worm is not a virus. Worms do not self-execute.
If you read up on that worm osx.leap.a, you'll realize how ineffective it was. Apple can't protect stupid people from double clicking on parishiltonsuckscock.app and then punching in their username/pw.
yes, but again my point is, a worm is not a virus. Worms do not self-execute.
Don't they? If a computer is running a vulnerable service and an infected computer sends it exploit code, that computer will then get infected and start propagating the worm. A Trojan definitely won't self-execute.
I think you have to execute it for the first time, then it will propagate on its own. Meaning for something like osx.leap.a, you have to double click the file, enter username/pw. Then for the 2nd computer, 3rd, etc.....it propagates automatically.
here's symantec's definition, by no means definitive as these terms are constantly evolving. That's why people think trojans, worms and viruses are all the same.
What is a worm?
Worms are programs that replicate themselves from system to system without the use of a host file. This is in contrast to viruses, which requires the spreading of an infected host file. Although worms generally exist inside of other files, often Word or Excel documents, there is a difference between how worms and viruses use the host file. Usually the worm will release a document that already has the "worm" macro inside the document. The entire document will travel from computer to computer, so the entire document should be considered the worm [Email]W32.Mydoom.AX@mm[/Email] is an example of a worm
I think you have to execute it for the first time, then it will propagate on its own. Meaning for something like osx.leap.a, you have to double click the file, enter username/pw. Then for the 2nd computer, 3rd, etc.....it propagates automatically.
here's symantec's definition, by no means definitive as these terms are constantly evolving. That's why people think trojans, worms and viruses are all the same.
There are at least a few example of worms that didn't require the user to execute anything. Slammer, Code Red, and the Morris worm are the few that I remember. I checked Wikipedia, and it says a "worm uses a network to send copies of itself to other nodes (computer terminals on the network) and it may do so without any user intervention."
You're right though. The terminology is definitely fuzzy, especially wrt to trojans since some trojans can fit the definition for worm.
Btw, I tried sending you a PM, but your inbox is full.
After too much hemming and hawing, I opted for a Lenovo t60 with an extra gig of RAM.
Although it's not quite as speedy as I hoped, it handles all my programmes very well and it's clearly built substantially better than any other notebook I compared it against.
More than anything, what i've learnt is that notebook is a notebook is a notebook unless it's a piece of crap and then--wait for it--it's a piece of crap.
Comments
OS X contains a much bigger chunk of unix code than xp ever will. Very much generalizing if you lump both xp and os x as equally unix based.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix-like
this is an overused argument. Sure, there are certainly way less mac users, but let me point a few things out.
- apple is the 3rd largest manufacturer of computers in the world. Certainly they're no small player in the business. Billions of people use their machines worldwide. That certainly sounds like enough people to fuck over if there ever was a virus.
- os x has been virus free since inception. That's 5 and a half years of virus free performance. Sure os x isn't perfect, I can never predict the future, there might be viruses on the horizon. The track record speaks for itself, something that can't be disputed. Again, no viruses in 5.5 yrs.
- os x is inherently much more secure built in. Sure, you can secure xp if you know what you're doing, but think about the avg consumer. They neither have the time nor knowledge to adequately do this. Folks can waste a lot less time protecting their macs and just get to doing work. Time = money, time saved = you figure it out.
- wouldn't it vindicate all these pc nerds if there was an actual os x virus. Think about it, for all the vitriol heaped on macs, you'd figure someone out there would've created a mac virus. It would be a pretty prestigious title in the hacking world, but nope, it has not happened. You ever wonder why?
No machine is better, these pc vs mac arguments are RETARDED. 99% of the time they're filled w/ myths and misconceptions. Are macs superior on all accounts, hell no. Are they more user friendly and less stressful, in my experiences yes. Will people still prefer xp because they're adverse to change, YES. You cannot account for personal taste. Some people will prefer macs, some will prefer pc's, depending on their needs. Let's just leave it at that.
http://xvsxp.com/
fe-lo-ne-ous.[/b]
I'm a tech at a recording studio, and I've basically mastered all the start-up hot-keys to resurrect these suckers. ive never run an anti virus software on them (because they are always outta date). so all i do is reformat and the comp acts brand new.
im not saying that these are caused by viruses (im not sure what exactly causes this stuff), but just hear me out. nothing is supposta be recorded on the system disk (its a rare occasion that it does) and nothing is (suposeta to be) saved to the sys disk either. because these machines are open to the internet, i just always assumed the bugginess comes from that.
these pc vs mac arguments are RETARDED. 99% of the time they're filled w/ myths and misconceptions.
huge
yea.. not fun.
Actually, there has been at least one virus and one trojan/worm. They're not very dangerous, but they do exist. That said, Apple is a lot more pro-active in fixing security holes. Microsoft's starting to do better with security, but they've got a way to go.
no, no viruses on os x. NONE. Another common misconception. Those reports were of vulnerabilities discovered by people that have been quickly patched. That obviously doesn't sell as well as a "First OS X VIRUS" headline, lazy journalism. No virus was ever introduced in the real world anytime those vulnerabilities have been discovered. Trojans are different than viruses.
Again, os x is not perfect, it is not "immune" to viruses. However the track record remains the same, no viruses for 5.5 yrs.
http://www.symantec.com/enterprise/secur...os_x_virus.html
aser i believe you, but wasnt there some big apple virus scare earlier this year?
I edited my earlier post w/ a link discussing this. I think you replied before I made the edit....doh.
OS X will prompt you for your username/pw when installing any program. For instance, if you were to click on a virus/worm/trojan horse, it will require authentication. Another layer of protection that is not provided by XP. the official techie explanation as follows....
OS X: Software does not automatically inherit the rights of the account in which it is run: software requiring admin privileges must be explicitly granted access by the user, even if the user is already logged in as an admin.
XP: Software automatically inherits the rights of the account in which it is run: since the default XP account is an admin account, software requiring admin privileges in this default account may run without the user's explicit permission.
Actually, someone wrote a proof of concept virus. It's not very effective and it wasn't released into the wild, but it does exist. I agree with you that Apple has been pretty responsive in patching their security holes; I even said so in my last post.
P.S. I like Macs. I run Linux and *BSD, so I'd have to dual or triple-boot if I ever got one.
OS X is not foolproof, I'll say that for the 3rd time. However, the track record speaks for itself.
A worm can be dangerous too, no? I guess it's more of a danger for servers than desktops, but desktops still run networked services, e.g. Bittorrent.
EDIT: Just to be clear, I'm not saying the Apple worm is dangerous, just worms in general.
so when are you getting that check?
That's a good point. The user could still enter their user/pass and fall for a Trojan that way, but it makes them think for a second. The only way to deal with trojans is by educating users.
Although, Mandatory Access Controls would probably do the trick also. They have a few problems of their own. Plus, they're only available on Linux and BSD.
If you read up on that worm osx.leap.a, you'll realize how ineffective it was. Apple can't protect stupid people from double clicking on parishiltonsuckscock.app and then punching in their username/pw.
Don't they? If a computer is running a vulnerable service and an infected computer sends it exploit code, that computer will then get infected and start propagating the worm. A Trojan definitely won't self-execute.
here's symantec's definition, by no means definitive as these terms are constantly evolving. That's why people think trojans, worms and viruses are all the same.
There are at least a few example of worms that didn't require the user to execute anything. Slammer, Code Red, and the Morris worm are the few that I remember. I checked Wikipedia, and it says a "worm uses a network to send copies of itself to other nodes (computer terminals on the network) and it may do so without any user intervention."
You're right though. The terminology is definitely fuzzy, especially wrt to trojans since some trojans can fit the definition for worm.
Btw, I tried sending you a PM, but your inbox is full.
- spidey
Although it's not quite as speedy as I hoped, it handles all my programmes very well and it's clearly built substantially better than any other notebook I compared it against.
More than anything, what i've learnt is that notebook is a notebook is a notebook unless it's a piece of crap and then--wait for it--it's a piece of crap.