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From: Jolly Roger on 16 Jul 2008 10:00
In article <487dc872$0$6004$9a622dc7(a)news.kpnplanet.nl>,
PawStephan <0kevi(a)freeler.invalid> wrote:

> Just in case you missed it, like I did. And if it was mentioned here I
> missed that too. Anyway, I was wondering whether to try antivirus
> software.
>
> http://db.tidbits.com/article/9511
> http://www.sophos.com/security/technical-papers/mac-data-theft.html

You do realize that the second article is written by a company that
sells Mac security software, right? It's in their best interests if you
purchase antivirus software.

There are *zero* Mac OS X viruses in the wild, and it has been this way
for the past eight or so years since Mac OS X was first released. There
are proof-of-concept exploits, but those are written by the same
"security professionals" who want to sell you their antivirus software.

There is malware out there for Mac OS X, in the form of trojans. The
most reliable way to avoid those is common sense.

--
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than to me, as
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM
filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google
Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts.

JR
From: Fred Moore on 16 Jul 2008 11:48
In article <487e08e7$0$6002$9a622dc7(a)news.kpnplanet.nl>,
PawStephan <0kevi(a)freeler.invalid> wrote:
> In article <jollyroger-628454.09001016072008(a)news.individual.net>,
> Jolly Roger <jollyroger(a)pobox.com> wrote:
> > In article <487dc872$0$6004$9a622dc7(a)news.kpnplanet.nl>,
> > PawStephan <0kevi(a)freeler.invalid> wrote:
> > > Just in case you missed it, like I did. And if it was mentioned here I
> > > missed that too. Anyway, I was wondering whether to try antivirus
> > > software.
> > >
> > > http://db.tidbits.com/article/9511
> > > http://www.sophos.com/security/technical-papers/mac-data-theft.html
> >
> > You do realize that the second article is written by a company that
> > sells Mac security software, right? It's in their best interests if you
> > purchase antivirus software.
>
> No, I didn't. I still think it's good advice. Apart from not having a
> laptop all steps (except it not coming with me and Filevault) are taken.
> >
> > There are *zero* Mac OS X viruses in the wild, and it has been this way
> > for the past eight or so years since Mac OS X was first released. There
> > are proof-of-concept exploits, but those are written by the same
> > "security professionals" who want to sell you their antivirus software.
>
> I read you.
> >
> > There is malware out there for Mac OS X, in the form of trojans. The
> > most reliable way to avoid those is common sense.
>
> Yup.

If I may add briefly to JR's points: If your are _required_ to run a
virus utility (by corporate bozos,say) or if you correspond or transfer
files with a lot of D'Ohs-heads and don't want to pass along viruses
which may harm them but not you, try ClamXav
<http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/24449>

It's the front end for the free ClamAV virus checker. You get the
protection you want (but don't really need) at no cost. As with any of
these virus products, I don't recommend running the 'scan everything as
you go along' (or whatever each program calls this 'feature') option
because it can cause way too many problems.

As to common sense, be sure you understand what that means. I won't
detail the precautions here because others have done it better and often
elsewhere in great detail, but the first line of common sense is to set
all system prefs _not_ to auto-launch/mount/whatever files downloaded
from the Internet.

--Fred
From: billy on 16 Jul 2008 17:31
Jolly Roger <jollyroger(a)pobox.com> writes:

> PawStephan <0kevi(a)freeler.invalid> wrote:
>
> > Just in case you missed it, like I did. And if it was mentioned here I
> > missed that too. Anyway, I was wondering whether to try antivirus
> > software.
> >
> > http://db.tidbits.com/article/9511
> > http://www.sophos.com/security/technical-papers/mac-data-theft.html
>
> You do realize that the second article is written by a company that
> sells Mac security software, right? It's in their best interests if you
> purchase antivirus software.

The second article, above, is merely some useful advice. It is not an
attempt to get anyone to purchase anything, and doesn't contain even one
instance of the words 'virus' or 'trojan.'

Billy Y..
From: billy on 16 Jul 2008 17:36
Fred Moore <fmoore(a)gcfn.org> writes:

> If I may add briefly to JR's points: If your are _required_ to run a
> virus utility (by corporate bozos,say) or if you correspond or transfer
> files with a lot of D'Ohs-heads and don't want to pass along viruses
> which may harm them but not you, try ClamXav
> <http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/24449>
>
> It's the front end for the free ClamAV virus checker. You get the
> protection you want (but don't really need) at no cost.

Actually, ClamAV has had its own share of security problems.

If someone is requiring you to deploy something like this,
they should be the one supplying, and configuring, it.

Billy Y..
From: Jolly Roger on 16 Jul 2008 17:59
In article <g5lpbn$re0$1(a)reader1.panix.com>, billy(a)MIX.COM wrote:

> Jolly Roger <jollyroger(a)pobox.com> writes:
>
> > PawStephan <0kevi(a)freeler.invalid> wrote:
> >
> > > Just in case you missed it, like I did. And if it was mentioned here I
> > > missed that too. Anyway, I was wondering whether to try antivirus
> > > software.
> > >
> > > http://db.tidbits.com/article/9511
> > > http://www.sophos.com/security/technical-papers/mac-data-theft.html
> >
> > You do realize that the second article is written by a company that
> > sells Mac security software, right? It's in their best interests if you
> > purchase antivirus software.
>
> The second article, above, is merely some useful advice. It is not an
> attempt to get anyone to purchase anything, and doesn't contain even one
> instance of the words 'virus' or 'trojan.'

Yes, and?

--
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than to me, as
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM
filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google
Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts.

JR
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