When it comes down to spyware, viruses, and phishing scams, any personal computer can become a target to take your information, sell it, and make your digital life a living nightmare. To make sure you're in the know, we've adapted Giz's excellent roundup of computer myths and emphasized a few more of our own.
TOP 5 COMPUTER SECURITY, DEBUNKED:
1. Macs can't get viruses. Oh yes they can. Buffer exploits, trojans, and other malicious codes can put your computer on lock down. While the PC share is still running high at 90%, the more popular Mac computers get, the more likely they'll become a target in the future. So proceed with caution, don't click random links, and avoid software piracy.
2. My e-mail inbox is spam-free. If you think you've never received a single spam address, you've either never publicly used it for e-mail or have your spam filter turned off. Make sure it's on. Otherwise, you're just asking for a flurry of phishing e-mails to come into your mailbox.
3. We're getting better at virus protection. One would think that with more complex software systems that we'd be improving on all fronts, especially security. Wrong. The more the complex the system, the easier it is to poke holes it in, or - in McAfee's case, mistakenly identify a critical system process as a virus and screw everything up. Antivirus software is good, but one must be educated catch it when it trips up.
4. Phishing only happens to other people. Someone trying to steal my social security number and Facebook password? In a million years! This kind of mentality is fresh meat for identity thieves and will get you into a lot of trouble. Ever get a random Facebook App invite from friends you rarely ever hear from? Chances are they've fallen victim to malware and are now virtual zombies in your Facebook friends pool. Again, don't click any links that even hint at something fishy.
5. My hard drive is safe. Again and again, we've spoken to people, even CEOs of companies, who fail do to the simple act of backing up their data. Back up your data. Not only will this make your life much less of a nightmare when any of the above were to occur, but the average hard drive life is barely ten years - though many of us here have seen them as short as two. Always make sure you've got your important stuff on in at least two places.
Got a computer security tip to share? Let us know in the comments!
[Image: Macgeek13]
[Adapted from Gizmodo]
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Comments (8)
The definition of a computer virus is "a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without the permission or knowledge of the owner." I've been using Macs for 20 years and have never had a virus. Although there were Mac viruses for the pre-OS X operating systems—despite it's small market share—there has never been a Mac virus in the almost 10 years that OS X has existed. That's because nothing gets installed without an admin password being entered; a Mac cannot be infected without the permission or knowledge of the owner unlike some other operating systems.
There have been a few trojans created for Macs, but they never got far because you had to be tricked into downloading the trojan, and even after downloading it, you had to enter an admin password to install it.
I don't buy the explanation that there are no Mac viruses because Macs are such a small portion of computers in use that nobody finds it worth the trouble to write one, because the notoriety and bragging rights that whoever created the first actual virus for Mac OS X would get would be far better than writing just another one of the dozens of new Windows viruses that pop up daily.
This is not to say that Macs CAN'T get computer viruses—they can. But they don't get computer viruses, in large part because the operating system itself is simply far more secure and impervious to malware attacks than Windows (for example).
Where's that photo from? And where is the mac's wallpaper from? It looks like the F4U-5NL at the Red Bull AirRace in Windsor/Detroit, I have a shot just like it!
@Guav to say Macs are "impervious to malware" speaks volumes to the pride that some computer owners have. This is a classic argument of "it can't happen to me". There are viruses, trojans and other malware for Macs. Just check the virus definitions for any antivirus site. OSX was built on an OS that is more secure than others, but to say that it's immune to anything bad is fantasy.
Being a responsible computer user is something everyone should be. Just because you've got a Mac doesn't give you some holy protection from people that would stand to profit from your ignorance. We all need to be vigilant in our time on the internet; what sites we go to and what email we open. The only full proof way to secure your computer is to never use it. And that just doesn't seem like much fun :)
Happy surfing!
@Guav: Wrong. Just...wrong. I sincerely hope that you are lucky enough to never find out just how wrong your thinking is.
you want to see lots of macs with viruses? go to any university & stand in the tech line.
As I recall, OS X was the first computer to be compromised in the pwn2own last year, taking less than a minute. Mac users beware.
Thanks for the post. And I use for Mac protection Protemac NetMine. (protemac.com).
Hold in shift when plugging in removable storage. Disable autoruns on removable storage. That is somemething very simple that goes a long way.