Viruses, Worms, Trojans, and OS X
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Dirk Pilat - 2002.06.07
A very good day to you all!
While it is getting chillier down here at the end of the world, all around me colleagues, friends, and coworkers are straining from an increased viral load. No, I am not referring to hepatitis, influenza or herpes. I am, of course, talking about computer-viruses, worms, Trojan horses, etc. (as this is lowendmac.com, and if anybody thinks this might be the New England Journal of Medicine you are certainly on the wrong website. And no, we don't have any Jenna Jameson pictures either).
As a Mac user, I have never really taken any notice of PC-borne viruses, as they just don't concern me, but recently my inbox has been flooded with emails from people unknown to me, asking me to have a look at their girlfriend or just to open the attachments (something very sneaky, isn't it?).
Now, I normally don't get asked to look at peoples girlfriends, and even if I would be asked, I would divert my eyes in shame, having the best ever girlfriend myself, so emails like that make me obviously suspicious. A recent feature on Slashdot deepened my suspicion: The Internet is utterly awash with infectious little binary packages created by big boys with small egos who are desperate for recognition.
I made a conscientious decision to run OS X and OpenBSD behind an OpenBSD firewall. In other words, it doesn't get much safer then that (apart from switching off my modem and hiding my computer under the bed). This means for me freedom of worry from most port-based attacks, freedom of worries from Windows email viruses/worms
The only question is: Does anybody know about any OS X viruses?
A quick Google check did not reveal any sources of concern, but let's be honest: Somewhere out there a kid with a grudge must be sitting in front of his dad's Cube, programming a quick and dirty OS X pathogen. My question to the community out there: Do you guys know about any threats that might be looming, or do you know about any loopholes in our defense from unwanted visitors? I would love to hear from you and feature any input in the next column.
Until then, protect your computers and stay away from Wintel
machines - you might just catch a cold.
Recent Down But Not Out Columns
- Thoughts and advice on replacing a two-year-old iBook G4, 02.01. This iBook G4 has taken a beating. Does it make more sense to buy a new iBook G4, wait for the Intel models, or look at the used market?
- iBook on last legs, Mac mini saves marriage, and Macintel meanderings, 01.23. With the iBook G4 "falling apart at the seams", does it make more sense to buy a new G4 iBook or wait for the Intellified next gen iBook?
- First impressions of the 14" iBook G4, 11.13. "Apple has managed to produce a machine that combines everything I want from a portable computer with appropriate processor performance for a competitive price."
- More in the Down But Not Out index.
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Mac Pro overclocking, Windependence with Darwine, Blu-ray for Macs, and more, Mac News Review, 07.04. Also more on running Leopard on non-Apple hardware, Ubuntu on a Mac mini, the first autofocus webcam with Zeiss optics for Macs, and more.
- Wouldn't life be great with an iSlate?, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 07.04. PDAs and smartphones are too small for some tasks, full-fledged Tablet PCs are overkill, and ebook readers are too limited. Apple has the tech to own this niche.
- Mac of the Day: Blue & White Power Mac G3, Jan. 1999 - The most colorful Power Mac introduced an innovative 'drawbridge' enclosure.
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- July 6 in LEM history: 00: 3 user accelerators - 01: SCSI and FireWire Disk Mode - Stick with the Mac - Computers for college - 05: Optimizing OS X performance - Return of the bumper snicker - 06: Can consumer MacBook replace 2 PowerBooks and a ThinkPad? - Vintage Macs with System 6 run circles around 3 GHz Windows PC - Run Windows apps without Windows
- The Macintosh Portable started a notebook revolution, Carl Nygren, Classic Macs in the Intel Age, 07.03. Before Apple introduced the Mac Portable, notebook computers were text-based and ran MS-DOS. Ever since, graphical interfaces have been the norm for laptops.
- More links in our archive.
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