Re: MOSX Virus Not Viable On The Internet / WinTrolls In Denial


"Derek Currie" <derekcurrie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:derekcurrie-1E6E36.03184326022006@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mac OS X has the worst piece of malware yet, and it is the first one to
be discovered in the wild. Everybody get scared. Yawn.

Here is what the Oompa Loompa virus/trojan/worm can do:

1) Nothing at all over the Internet, ever.
2) Nothing at all on your computer, if by chance up pick it up or have
some boob send it to you. It just sits there. It takes advantage of no
Mac OS X exploitable security hole of any kind.
3) If you really want to you can make it do something, but you have to
be pretty careless:
A) Uncompress it. The thing likes to keep itself compressed when it
self-propagates.
B) Not notice the goofy extra file that comes with the fake JPEG file
that results from the decompression.
C) Double-click the fake JPEG.
D) Not wonder that something funny is up when Mac OS X asks you if
you really want to open this APPLICATION for the first time. See, JPEGs
are not applications, so they don't act like applications when you
double-click them.
4) If you fell for #3 then you are SOOOOOOO SCREWED! The malware infects
part of your system so it can self-propagate on your machine into
application files that you open thereafter. The malware is so poorly
written that it damages any application file in infects making it unable
to run. Result: Busted apps. Terrifying.
5) And if you run iChat with Bonjour/Rendezvous running over a LAN, it
will send itself as an attachment in an iChat message to folks on your
buddy list, whom it hopes are stupid enough to download the virus and do
a #3 on it.
6) Did I mention that it is not viable on the Internet? Ever?

This is a crappy little but of fluff compared to the nasty sophisticated
Windows security hole crawling viruses Windows users put up with in the
multitudes every day of their miserable existence. There are over
150,000 pieces of Windows malware according to McAfee. At last count Mac
OS X has 4, 3 of which are non-proliferating lab specimens only.

But yes, sigh, it can't hurt to have an anti-virus program on your Mac.

The one to NEVER get is Norton Anti-Virus. You pay too much for cruddy
code that is infamous for messing up your computer. The latest Symantec
coding blunder is a file NAV spawns that eats up a massive portion of
your disk space, supposedly for some test it wants to make, then forgets
to erase the file. Smart Symantec, as usual. These guys are also the
biggest cry babies over viruses you'll ever hear. Their 'cry wolf'
routine has been going on for months. And guess how they responded to
the Oompa Loompa virus: Like it was some big vindication for all their
FUD mongering. Nice try Symantec. Take your software and shove it.

I have been using McAfee's Virex 7, which for a few years was free with
DotMac accounts. It still works great and is updated frequently. Sadly
the latest version, compatible with Tiger, went the way of Sophos and
can only be bought in lots of 5. See ya later McAfee.

So I recommend either getting the FREE FREE FREE ClamXav software off
VersionTracker, etc., or Intego's Virus Barrier application. Intego have
already updated Virus Barrier to run native on Intel Macs. Kewlness.
Both these apps are also frequently updated with new virus definitions.

I also recommend getting the freeware haxie Paranoid Android, which was
just updated to v1.3 to provide further protection from security
exploits. (I posted about that last month). Little Snitch costs a bit,
but is also great, stopping any application from sneaking a connection
out to the Internet. You need never worry about your Mac becoming a
zombie spam or virus factory.

Will Mac OS X become the security disaster area Windows has always been?
No way! Flaunt it folks! Make those Windows users cry for justice and
freedom from computer hell! Then tell them they can be Microsoft-Free
forever, and show them how. They'll thank you just like all the converts
I have made over the last 14 years. Viva La Resistance!

But remember, there will always be wetware error. That means YOU. This
MOSX virus ONLY works if wetware error occurs. Learn to be responsible,
security conscious computer users. Some day our prince will come and rid
the land of viruses. Yeah like maybe after we're all old and dead. So in
the meantime, be safe, and follow the #1 rule of computing:

Always make a backup.

Share and Enjoy!

:-Derek

--
Fortune Magazine, 11-29-05: What's your computer setup today?
Frederick Brooks: I happily use a Macintosh. It's not been equalled for
ease
of use, and I want my computer to be a tool, not a challenge.
<http://www.fortune.com/fortune/print/0,15935,1135298,00.html>
[Frederick Brooks is the author of 'The Mythical Man Month'. He
spearheaded
the movement to modernize computer software engineering in 1975]


http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/664776


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