Sour Apples

Thursday April 5, 2012 at 3:23pm mac, malware, musings Comments (5) »
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As of a few days ago, a new iteration of an OSX trojan called Flashback emerged, and has apparently had much more success than previous attempts at infecting machines.  The most recent numbers I've read indicate ~600k, in fact.  My own machines were thankfully immune, owing to some specific applications I have installed that cause the trojan to opt to delete itself (rather than be discovered or stifled, presumably).  This version takes advantage of a Java hole, which Apple has now patched.  Other/previous versions pose as a Flash player installer.  (As an aside, if you're a Mac user, I recommend running Software Update to get the patch if you haven't already.  Also, see "the bottom line".)

Here is what I think is funny: the Mac-bashing that inevitably comes with this sort of thing.  Quips along the lines of "oh, you thought you were so cool and couldn't get viruses and stuff - not so tough now, are ya!?".

The reason this is amusing is that it comes off as desperate.  It kind of feels like the last-place team cheering when the first-place team finally loses a game.  I'm sure it's great, just don't look at the scoreboard.

When a new Windows virus/trojan/worm appears, I have heard (and have probably been) the occasional Mac (or linux) user intimating that they don't have to worry about it by virtue of their platform.  Yeah, it can be a bit of gloating, but it seems to lack the fervor or bitterness that this inverse possesses.  Also, at least from my point of view, any comment about Mac/Linux immunity in those cases is meant to be an argument for why a person should consider switching platforms.  I don't get that from these comments.  I don't think they're trying to get Mac users to switch (back) to Windows, they seem just to want to point out the flaws.  Spec in your brother's eye, and all that.

My "Windows Hate" has decreased a bit over the years.  Maybe that's because Windows has also improved "a bit" over the years.  I still don't like it, but that's mostly because it just seems to bog itself down after a while.  At least as far as XP.  I don't have as much experience with Windows 7.  I'm not going to talk about Vista.

Windows has its place.  Personally, I think that place is as a gaming rig or a machine for certain 3rd party applications a person might find essential that are Windows-only.  For more common uses (web, email, desktop office apps, etc) - or basically anything else - I'd always go with OSX or some flavor of Linux.  Of course, some people just want something cheap(ish), well-known and off-the-shelf - and I guess Windows fills that niche as well.  

(To tangent further, there is also something to the idea that, in our modern era of gizmos, more and more people don't really *need* an actual computer. If all you do is email/web/social media/etc type stuff, you're probably better suited to something like a tablet or even a smartphone.)

Also, I think Windows is kind of ugly, but that's just personal taste.  And probably an acquired one.

On the other side of that coin, I'd mention that, while I love my Macs, I'm not all that fond of Apple as a company, and I tend to be annoyed by the militant Apple/Mac fanboys of the world.  Yes, it's a spiffy product.  Calm down.  And stop acting cliquish and superior.  You're being a jerk.

Anyway, back to the malware topic.  

I'm pretty sure Apple has never claimed OSX is malware free.  They've said that Macs are immune to Windows malware, yes.  That's a bit of an obvious truth.  Microsoft could just as easily claim that their Windows systems are immune to Mac malware.  It's just that, in our world, that's significantly less impressive.  

They've probably also mentioned that OSX has built-in malware protection.  I'm honestly not sure how good it is, but I can say I've never had a problem.  They may point out that your likelihood of encountering malware is much lower on a Mac - which is still true, though it's clearly becoming less so.  Sadly, the erroneous idea that Macs are immune to malware probably comes from over-zealous Mac users who anecdotally have noticed that they never get the viruses and worms plaguing their Windows-using friends.  About the most you could say is that Apple has allowed people to believe they are safer than they actually are.

The bottom line is "pay attention".  You are quite literally your own worst enemy: a lot of malware that's out there for any platform is driven by social engineering - by tricking unsuspecting users into opening the door.  Don't just click 'ok'.  Even if it's never happened to you.  Even if you're behind a firewall.  Even if you have an antivirus program.  Even if you're on a Mac.  You may think these things are protecting you, but really, they're not - at least not completely.  You are not invulnerable.

~PS