At Sat, 6 Dec 2008 19:10:10 -0500 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. Right, MacOSX, like Linux and other UNIX-like/based systems (basically every current O/S *except* MS-Windows), are pretty much imune to viruses (yes, they can be affected by rootkits attacking unsecured network services). It is true that many MacOSX users also run MS-Windows via some sort of virtualization (eg Parallels, VMWare, etc.). The virtualized MS-Windows systems can be affected by viruses, although I doubt very many MacOSX users that run virtual MS-Windows systems would be using the virtual MS-Windows systems to do the sorts of things that would expose the virtual MS-Windows systems to viruses, like using either IE or OE, since those sorts of functions are available via native MacOSX applications (Safri/Firefox, AppleMail/Thunderbird). > > 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 > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net > > Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net > > > > You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion > > list. > > If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the > > Members page on the Hidden Tech Web site. > > http://www.hidden-tech.net/members > > ATG Worldwide > 413-306-4504 > atgworldwide at comcast.net > > > > _______________________________________________ > Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net > Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net > > You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. > If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members > page on the Hidden Tech Web site. > http://www.hidden-tech.net/members > > -- Robert Heller -- Get the Deepwoods Software FireFox Toolbar! Deepwoods Software -- Linux Installation and Administration http://www.deepsoft.com/ -- Web Hosting, with CGI and Database heller at deepsoft.com -- Contract Programming: C/C++, Tcl/Tk