[Hidden-tech] Security: Mac vs. Windows is no longer an argument

Joseph Steig joseph at steig.com
Mon Dec 8 09:33:09 EST 2008


Here's a question for everyone:

If one runs everything through GMail, with all attachments only coming
through that route, is Google's virus protection enough? They scan every
attachment before it's downloaded to your machine. Good enough for a Windows
machine? If not, why not? I'm sure someone will say "nothing is ever enough
protection for a Windows machine" but I'm wondering, do folks within Google
trust their own virus protection as sufficient or at least as good as
something like McAfee or Norton?

---------
joseph at steig.com | 617-500-7376 EST


On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 7:10 PM, ATG Worldwide <atgworldwide at comcast.net>wrote:

>  ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>  ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
> This week I contacted Yes Computers to ask this very question.  They
> indicate that they have not had any computers serviced for virus infection /
> spyware etc... and indicated that they believed that at this time this was
> not an issue.
>
> I do not run any 3rd party apps to protect my system at the moment.
>
> Michael Aronson
> Consumer Exports Group, Inc.
>
>
> On Dec 5, 2008, at 1:47 PM, Chris Hoogendyk wrote:
>
>   ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>>  ** If you did, we all thank you.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> andrew bellak wrote:
>>
>>> okay, so here's a quick poll / survey question:
>>>
>>> if you run Mac, do you use 3rd party ant-spyware and/or anti-virus
>>> software?  Is anything built in into Leopard (OSX)?
>>>
>>> since I'm usually behind a modem, then a wireless router, I've been
>>> advised that it's redundant and just slows one's machine.
>>>
>>
>> Good replies from Roger and Robert.
>>
>> For some time I have not trusted the anti virus software sold for Macs.
>> They seemed to cause more trouble than they prevented. While Virex was
>> originally developed on the Mac many years ago (long before Mac OS X), it
>> was bought out by McAfee (a PC software company). In such cases, Mac
>> software doesn't fare very well. Another prime example is Retrospect. That
>> was once one of the best software products anywhere. It was bought out by
>> EMC several years ago, and both development and support have seriously
>> languished. It seems to be dying the long slow death of neglect.
>>
>> I think that the primary threat on Macs is user behavior. The OS and
>> applications like Firefox try to provide protections, but the user is the
>> boss. So, download an executable from the web and the OS will issue a
>> warning when you try to run it. But, you can still say, "yes, I want to run
>> it."
>>
>> So, in the interest of user education and in parallel with the link I
>> posted the other day to the NSA Security Guides, those who want to learn
>> more about how to avoid risky behavior should check out the CERT Security
>> Tips -- http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ -- There is a huge amount of
>> stuff there. Since this is the shopping season, check out particularly the
>> tips related to Shopping Safely Online and Browsing Safely. Whether it says
>> so in those or not, I never do activities that involve money or secure
>> information on public wireless networks.
>>
>>
>> --
>> ---------------
>>
>> Chris Hoogendyk
>>
>> -
>>  O__  ---- Systems Administrator
>> c/ /'_ --- Biology & Geology Departments
>> (*) \(*) -- 140 Morrill Science Center
>> ~~~~~~~~~~ - University of Massachusetts, Amherst
>> <hoogendyk at bio.umass.edu>
>>
>> ---------------
>> Erdös 4
>>
>>
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>
> ATG Worldwide
> 413-306-4504
> atgworldwide at comcast.net
>
>
>
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