Ed Leafe wrote: > On Sep 29, 2009, at 11:22 PM, MB Software Solutions General Account > wrote: > >> Saw an article the other day that suggested the virus writers are >> targeting Macs more nowadays. Is it only a matter of time until the >> next target is Ubuntu, or is that O/S structured in such a way to be >> immune to a virus attack? > > > I don't think that anyone would be naive enough to claim that any > networked computer would be "immune" to an attack. But the point is > that *nix was designed from the outset to be a networked OS, so it is > inherently not as vulnerable as a Windows box. There are still many > exploits that can be found in apps that can compromise the box, no > matter what OS - even OS X or Ubuntu. It's just a much higher bar to > clear.
Let's also not forget that there's a big market for anti-virus and anti-spyware software for Windows machines (and next to no market for these on Mac and Linux). So even if the AV companies aren't directly writing exploits, it sure is in their best interests for exploits to keep appearing, and for the image to be that AV is necessary. I've been running my WinXP box for years now with no AV installed, and no virus infections. Every now and then I run a scan of the filesystem using ClamAV on Linux, and sure it finds some virus email attachments, but they've never been run so there wasn't any harm done. I've only recently installed AV software on my client's network, because of some minor spyware problems over the past few months. This is after over 10 years of them being on the Internet with Windows NT, 2K, and XP. So there's definitely hype over virus threats, but there's also some best practices we've followed, such as having a robust perimeter firewall, not running IE or Outlook/Outlook Express, having good spam filtering, turning off Windows File and Print Sharing (because they are unnecessary and dangerous), not letting normal users write to the Windows or Program Files directories (a policy I've had in place the entire time), using secure tunnels, and also having trained, educated users. Try turning off your background AV sometime. You may be pleasantly surprised at how much nicer it is to work on your machine. Paul _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
