MSE News: All web users urged to run anti virus check

kwikbreaks

Marty_J wrote: »

Is it "all web users", or "all Windows users?".

I love it when people write articles about computers while pretending that Mac OS X and Linux don't exist.

Statistically they don't.

Marty_J

kwikbreaks wrote: »

Statistically they don't.

Then statistically, neither do you.

bankslayer

Paul_Herring wrote: »

Rubbish.

The only problem I had with the laptop I gave to my "typical user" friends was not the fact that I put Linux onto it before handing it to them, but the fact that one of them spilt wine on it, and they ended up having to purchase another (Windows this time) laptop.

I never once had cause to go round there because of the Linux laptop. Sadly the same cannot be said of the current Windows one.

Before I get flamed any further for being a Linux skeptic (I was actually expecting to get slammed for being pro-Mac), you should know that a year or so ago I actually moved from Windows to Linux (Ubuntu, spare me the distro-wars please!), so I am very firmly in the *nix/Linux/Android camp.

You just need to be realistic here - Linux is damn good these days, but it is still barely a minor irritation to Windows. If some people still get confused when they move from Windows to Mac, they are going to really struggle with Linux.

Forget the technicalities, forget how good modern Desktop Linux really is - regardless of what the 'informed' people know, we are talking here about mass-market, ordinary consumers and the unfortunate Windows-centric world which is actually causing an awful lot of problems for people who don't know and should not need to know how to deal with it.

isofa

bankslayer wrote: »

The point we are trying to make here is that people should not have to worry so much about malware on their PCs. Ordinary non-nerd users are very much in the majority in the real world and having to be 'clued up' in order to survive is just not good enough, and if you make a sensible choice, it's not necessary.

Presumably these "ordinary non-nerd" users remember to lock their cars, remove expensive items from the back seat when in a car park, lock their front door, keep hold of their credit card and PIN safely, and a million and other general security tasks everyone does automatically today.

Computers are no different, they require thought and a different skills set just like anything else in life, people just need to understand and learn. If they don't understand or are a novice user, they should read a book, or go on a course.

Regardless of which platform you choose, an inexperienced user (or one who likes downloaded pirated software for example) can fall prey to all sorts of attacks. It's about the user more than the computer. Although I do agree that OS X is far more secure via foundations than Windows, and I choose not to run anti-virus on my systems, because at the moment I think, to me personally, there is zero risk.

There are a huge amount of resources and conversations in the press and on-line about the dangerous of phishing attacks, malware and everything in between, it is up to the user to take heed.

Leopard

Marty_J wrote: »

Originally Posted by MSE Martin

It's all web users - whatever operating system. While this particular trojan may be for one type of system - that doesn't negate the wider point. And while Mac's (and i've a lesser knowledge of Linux - but most of its users are very techie savvy anyway so less of an issue) have traditionally been less targetted, there are still viruses out there.

As for what Mac and Linux users should be doing "everyone should do an updated anti-virus scan".

Martin

Many security experts disagree that Mac users should be running an anti-virus program as a matter of course. There are so few viruses for the Mac, and you have to be trying really hard to get one. If you practice safe browsing, stay away from dodgy websites, don't download pirated software, don't open strange email attachments (and use an email provider that scans incoming emails), you won't get any virus or malware that currently exists for the Mac. The only people who consistently advocate using Mac anti-virus software are, surprise surprise, the people who sell it.

iAntiVirus, a free anti-virus for the Mac, lists only 113 threats in its database, most of which require admin privileges to be installed, are "proof of concept" viruses, or only affect older Apple software such as Classic Mac OS. One of them is even a computer game created as an "art project". All the others come from pirated software or dodgy websites.

It's just not worth the performance hit inherent in all anti-virus applications to guard myself against something that I'm not going to get anyway. I've been using Mac OS X since it was released, and every so often I install an anti-virus out of curiosity. In the last 8 years, they have all failed to find anything.

People seem to be under the impression that using an anti-virus means they're safe on the internet, but nothing could be further from the truth. The weak point in any computer system, regardless of the OS, is the idiot sitting in front of it. There's no existing anti-virus or anti-malware app that's a replacement for common sense.

Marty J,

DO NOT ARGUE WITH :A GOD :A ! :eek:



You're on your own with this one, matey. :cool:

jamespir

ran all three of mine and they found nothing anyone know what it were looking for

Darnit_2

OK folks, now I am scared. My firewall turned off (none of us did it, it just seemed to happen) and so I put it back on and ran anti virus again. I seem to have got my operating system back up to speed but had to reset computer back to last weeks settings. I use internet banking and want to know if I need to do anything else to protect my accounts? I use avast. I am not very good at this.

Marty_J

Leopard wrote: »

Marty J,


DO NOT ARGUE WITH :A GOD :A ! :eek:




You're on your own with this one, matey. :cool:

He's certainly a moneysaving god.

I don't know about being a Mac security god though.

John_Gray

MSE_Guy wrote: »

"Hackers are thought to be targeting web users by implanting a computer virus that records which sites you visit ..."

Maybe I'm just being cynical, but is this really different from someone saying, any time over the last 27½ or so years: "There are viruses around, and you should make sure you are protected against them"?

There will always be Yet Another Virus which appears...

esuhl

Darnit wrote: »

OK folks, now I am scared. My firewall turned off (none of us did it, it just seemed to happen) and so I put it back on and ran anti virus again. I seem to have got my operating system back up to speed but had to reset computer back to last weeks settings. I use internet banking and want to know if I need to do anything else to protect my accounts? I use avast. I am not very good at this.

I would avoid using Windows for online banking (as this article also suggests), particularly if you don't regularly check that your firewall, antivirus and anti-malware applications are up-to-date.

However, I suspect that these trojans would be injected using cross-site scripting (i.e. the trojan would be on a separate domain, and a link to it would be placed on the "innocent" website, such as MSE). If this is the case, the NoScript plugin for Firefox blocks unauthorised cross-site scripting attempts, and so may drastically reduce the chance of downloading the trojan.