12-02-2008, 09:18 PM
Heiho,
it was always wrong to think Macs would be immune to viruses (... virii? whatever). Thing is, only a few users really bother(ed) with the multiuser system when OS X came out.
However, like with Windows (and hell, yes, also Linux of course) it is always wise to use a restricted account on the machine for common work. From what I see Apple has still the same homework to do like MS has - building applications which work with a restricted user, too. That said, a popular Application like iPhoto should work with a restricted user account, without hassles why the camera on USB is not recognized by a restricted user, but works fine with an administrative account, eg. The same is valid when said about all 3rd party software, there's no reason why a ProTools PlugIn only recognizes its key/dongle in administrative mode. This stuffs prevents users from actually working with restricted accounts, so lots of harm could be done from outside.
But, like also mentioned in the BBC article, main problem nowadays are hijacking your browser, ph1shing and whatnot, and of course social engineering via 'Web2.0', and this is mainly platform-independent stuff.
So, main rule is 'be on guard', eg surf with care, don't open any stuff from anywhere, keep an eye open for irregularities and so on. Far better than installing a bunch of conflicting software which can't do the thinking for you, and is prominent for being very similar to a virus, except that you've paid before installing ...
it was always wrong to think Macs would be immune to viruses (... virii? whatever). Thing is, only a few users really bother(ed) with the multiuser system when OS X came out.
However, like with Windows (and hell, yes, also Linux of course) it is always wise to use a restricted account on the machine for common work. From what I see Apple has still the same homework to do like MS has - building applications which work with a restricted user, too. That said, a popular Application like iPhoto should work with a restricted user account, without hassles why the camera on USB is not recognized by a restricted user, but works fine with an administrative account, eg. The same is valid when said about all 3rd party software, there's no reason why a ProTools PlugIn only recognizes its key/dongle in administrative mode. This stuffs prevents users from actually working with restricted accounts, so lots of harm could be done from outside.
But, like also mentioned in the BBC article, main problem nowadays are hijacking your browser, ph1shing and whatnot, and of course social engineering via 'Web2.0', and this is mainly platform-independent stuff.
So, main rule is 'be on guard', eg surf with care, don't open any stuff from anywhere, keep an eye open for irregularities and so on. Far better than installing a bunch of conflicting software which can't do the thinking for you, and is prominent for being very similar to a virus, except that you've paid before installing ...