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Sure I got a virus's on my Mac

But it was a Windows virus, a Javascript virus, and a Office virus. Not a Mac OS X virus.

ClamXav got rid of it.

There is spyware for the Mac too, Spectorsoft, keystroke loggers and even rootkits (Opener)

There has been trojans for Mac OS X as well, so don't run a app off P2P networks. Don't give anything you admin password that you don't 100% trust. Don't trust apps on music cds. (fsck U SONY)

Security through obscurity is a myth propogated by M$ because they had no answer yet for Mac OS X, but now they do (Vista).

I only got one virus in 21 years of using Mac's and that was 16 years ago.

Mac's are about 99% of the time 100% secure which is a lot better than 'Doze.

Want to hardne Mac OS X even further? READ!

http://packetstormsecurity.nl/mac-osx/050819-securing-mac-os-x-tiger.pdf

Clone your boot drive and keep it disconnected, c boot from Mac OS X install disk and select Disk utility erase w/zero any contaminated drives. Hook up your clone and reverse clone.

What a bunch of idiots. Cancelled my membership.

Who cares, that rag of a publication has been irrelevant for 25 years now...

Does Consumer Reports actually believe that it is the processor that is the target of viruses?...

Consumer Reports writes some odd things, but this one is really out there! They're either ignorant in the extreme or using FUD to sway people away from Macs by loosly associating the Intel-based Macs with the vulnerabilities of Windows PCs.

Ignorance is a common affliction, the Knowledge of OSX is growing, "what you've never had a virus, how?" I answer, abnegation from "Smallflacid (Microsoft)" operating systems and loving OSX...

bullshit. Didn't we already discuss this a few months ago?

The spyware on my Mac is called Windows Media Player

Name one OS X virus. Please name one. Then the ratio will be 100000 to 1.

MDN magic word: million

How long before there are a million Windows viruses?

Consumer Reports is sloppy with its use of the word "target". Viruses target every computer on the web probing for openings. The word they should have used is "breach".

I'm pretty sure they meant that once people start emulating windows on their Macintels, which as you all know Apple said they won't prevent, mac users may become more susceptible to viruses. And also, if more people buy the macintels more viruses will show up.

I mean, hey, I'm all for the idea that Mac OSX is inherently more secure, but only an idiot would assume it's invulnerable.

I ran ClamXav again and discovered a couple of Phishing Emails that contained Worms and a couple more Spam Emails that also contained virusses that affect Non-Mac machines. So I can say that indeed I did find malware on my Mac (reference Consumer Reports). But did they directly affect my systems? No. They were hidden attachments in Emails designed for Windows machines.

And this thread is topical regarding CR.

What it boils down to is that at least 20% of Mac folks use some kind of anti-malware app and sure enough, they found malware on their machines. Ergo according to CR, 20% of Mac systems had malware on board.

Okay, now come up with some flippant analogy so we can laugh?

"Are Consumer Reports really helping their readers choose...with this nonsense?"

CR is irrelevant. Supermarket tabloids are more credible.

"It's too soon, to know, however, whether new Macs will be more vulnerable to attack once Apple begins its switch to Intel processors"

Heh. Both FUD and a technical impossibility in the same sentence. Who writes this stuff, Microsoft??

MW: poor. As in how CR should be ranked.

Veronica: Legend has it that Bill’s wife learned on their wedding night why he named the company “MicroSoft.”

I wanna see proof of these viruses they are speaking of. I mean seriously, who has a LIST of viruses for Macs. Lets see it.

"Okay, now come up with some flippant analogy so we can laugh?"

Try this: Using CR's logic, testers of Brand X of a car should lower their ratings because Brand X got dirty from oil that leaked from a Brand Y. Never mind that Brand Y is a Valdez, Brand X must somehow be vulnerable for getting dirty! OK maybe this analogy isn't the funniest, but it's just as absurd.

Windows malware is the oil slick of the Internet. It's poison to PCs (which help add to the pool), and harmless road grime to Macs.

Consumer Reports is a good publication, for fiction anyway.

Anyone know how to send them POLITE feedback about their errors?

CR has not had a reputable personal computer division since the late 80s, if ever. I stopped my subscription to them back in the 80s when the did their fist Mac versis DOS comparison and they "showed" Macs as 2x to 3x slower for even things like MS Word and Excel tasks. I wrote a very long letter detailing their errors and stopped my subscription. Never even thought about going back. (Quite a while later, a friend showed me their fist Mac versus Windows evaluation, and CR had the temerity to claim that the Windows interface [pre Win-95 mind you] was more intuitive than the Mac.)

The problem with CR is that there are people out there (I've met a few) that live and die by CR's ratings. A huge, POLITE write in effort might change their stance, but I doubt it. They have not changed in over 15 years. Why would they change now?

You had to ask! These are all pre-Mac OS X bad-nasties:

http://antivirus.about.com/od/macintoshresource/g/macvirus.htm

What CR could have done is been more specific in their question, like "Which Mac OS was being affected by malware?"

But that doesn't sell magazines now, does it?

Oh Rainy Day where ever did you HEAR that one! Oh it's just _hysterical_ and so very _original_ too!!! Oh you are a funny one. You ought to take that on the road!!!

Yeah it doesn't make sense, I mean, why woudl consumer reports use 1,000-to-1, does it just sound better? Why not a million-to-1 or pi-to-1 as long as they are making up ratios.

CR has been anti Apple from the get go ....I have never read a positve, knowledgeable review about Apple products from their rag

There are some hard core PC'ers there who make sure the bias stays intact ....

Harry Babad wrote the following back in December 2004. Notice how some things just don't change much?

http://www.maccompanion.com/archives/december2004/Columns/Rants.html

"Whether you opt for a Windows PC or a Mac, you should use antivirus, firewall, and antispyware programs."

We're in deep shite here; I can't find an antispyware programme for my Macs!! What shall I do?

Oh, this poor world haunted by mythmakers...

Wilhil; Go here and read our review of ClamXav. It i donationware, but it is really, really good! Mark John Allan deserves the cash!

http://www.maccompanion.com/archives/december2005/Shareware/ClamXav.htm

You want recommendations for decent gear from Consumer Reports?

Sure, if you want a low-end lawn mover, washing machine or recliner, they're your source!

CR has NEVER given Macs a fair and square review.

We also did a review of Allume's Spring Cleaning back in April 2004, when it was version 6 (now version 7).

http://www.maccompanion.com/archives/april2004/Software/software.html#7

They also detect Spyware on the Mac with Internet Cleanup at http://www.allume.com/mac/index.html

I have used ClamXav for a year now, I think:) I actually just ran an update of it. But thanks for the info and hopefully there will be others which will find it and use it. We need to protect our Windows-friends:)

My input there was meant as an ironic comment as ClamXav is anti-virus to my knowledge, not antispyware...
I might be wrong but I do not think there exist any antispyware application of the Mac OS X. What would it do? Just sit there and wait and wait...?

I bought a VCR based on their recommendation. It broke a day later.

Hm. I saw a link to an article where it was mentioned that spyware for Mac does exist and there was this link:
http://www.spectorsoft.com/press/press_releases/02_01_24.html
Well, it isn't actually what I think of when I think of spyware, but oh well, what do I know?

Going on 5 years and counting and still no viruses on OSX period, end of story. More than 17 million users and still no viruses on OSX.

This was updated not too long ago...

http://macscan.securemac.com/

Not just emulation, but if I run WINE which will allow MacOS/Intel to run Windows apps natively, the question is will WINE allow Windows malware to run as well?

I suspect not, but those of you who are dismissing the possibility out of hand without due investigation have been drinking too much Cupertino Kool-Aid. Consumer Reports is correct to note caution in that regard.

CR's reviews of audio equipment, particularly speakers, are equally ridiculous. All they do is measure the frequency response, which is kind of like measuring the color of a car's paint and proclaiming all the blue ones winners. Some of the worst trash got their highest ratings.

Problem with CR is they think everything can be quantified. Well, even if they were right, they sure as hell don't know what to measure.

Um, anyone remember "Phantom Update"?
Or the Mac OS X URI Handler Arbitrary Code Execution exploit?
Don't get too smug.

Ok I have had something happen today that made me nervous. If you don't have Powerpoint on your system pps files don't load properly and end up looking like giberish in Safari. I file usually takes about 2 minutes to "clear" and if you are lucky you won't have to restart Safari. Well something similar happen at a less than dubious site today, Lots of chinese charaters and my hard drive went nuts for a couple of minutes. I tried to force a restart of Safari, no change so I forced a retart of the computer and that stopped it. The last time somthing like that happened I was running XP and I had to do a complete format. Thank you OSX.

MW day. I hate the thought of it but we will all be scrambling to Norton and others when it does happen.

Here is a pps file if you havn't tried to download one. Elchinero has some great aircraft videos btw http://www.elchineroconcepts.com/Wally118.pps

Please elaborate, I don't remember any "Phantom Update". A Google search only turns up an iPhoto update which was mistakenly released early.

The URL handler issue was fixed by the Mac community in less than 24 hrs, Apple followed up within a couple of weeks, no exploits were reported.

I don't think that anyone believes that an exploit could never happen, just that it isn't particularly likely, and definately less risky than CR's incorrect ratio of "1000 to 1". That statement amounts to FUD. It isn't supported by the facts.

"Here is a pps file if you havn't tried to download one. Elchinero has some great aircraft videos btw http://www.elchineroconcepts.com/Wally118.pps"

Your link crashes Safari on my machine. I have Powerpoint installed. I sent a bug report to Apple. Running 10.3.9 and Safari 1.3.1

Where do these people get their stupid ideas and misinformation from? it almost seems likely Microsoft is paying them to spread FUD about Apple.

Tim Coughlin

http://timcoughlin.typepad.com

That link crashes Firefox too, but not Opera.In Opera it loads as a bunch of garbage. It doesn' t load as a Powerpoint file, (I think) its trying to load as HTML.

I just sent consumer report a terse email outlining my displeasure at their erroneous reporting. You can also show your displeasure at their website.

http://custhelp.consumerreports.org/cgi-bin/consumerreports.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

Here is the text I submitted to Consumer Reports.
--------
I recently read your article "Buying a computer 12/05" (http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/computers/buying-a-computer-1205/windows-or-macintosh.htm).
This article contains many erroneous statements about macintosh computers in regards to their susceptiblity to viruses. I am not sure where to begin so I will just give you a link to a Mac Daily News website article that points out better than i ever could many of the errors in your reporting. In summary there are no viruses for the Apple OS X operating system. There were a few for Apple operating systems used a decade ago. . .Currently the ratio is NOT 100-1 it might be 100 000- 0. Let me reiterate . .there are no viruses for OS X.

http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/7877/

Your poor performance in fact-checking is a diservice to your readers. Your readers are subsricbers that pay money for the information you provide. You are obligated to do a better job in the area of computer reporting than you are currently doing.
----------

"CR has been anti Apple from the get go ....I have never read a positve, knowledgeable review about Apple products from their rag"

I dont get the mag, but my stepdad does and I usually skim through it when i visit. Actually they ahve had a lot of pro-Mac articles over the last couple years. The problem is, despite the fact that the general tone of the article is very positive, they still screw up the details and miss the mark on specifics. They had an article within the last year title 54,000 reasons to buy a Mac and it was because there were 54000 viruses on Windows machines.

I dont remember what they said about the Mac side virus-wise. I get bored reading how great Macs are because I already know it so I skimmed most of the article.

Now CNet on the other hand. Thats a media outlet that seems to have Mac bashing in their corporate mission statement.

Here's an email I sent to Consumer Reports:

Thankyou for a useful and interesting report on buying a Computer. However, there are a few inaccuracies in your "Windows or Macintosh" and Security sections that result in somewhat less than balanced report.

The "Windows or Macintosh" section mentions that the ratio of viruses targeting Windows vs Mac OS X is 1000-to-1. Although this seems impressive, the ratio is considerably more extreme being of the order of 140,000 to 0. As Kelly Martin, the content editor for Symantec's publication SecurityFocus
has said in April 2005: "There are no viruses on OS X -- not a single one...
Just as Windows users have become accustomed to 140,000 viruses, Apple users
have become accustomed to none."
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/04/21/apples_big_virus/

You cannot in all conscience include the 60 or so bits of malware that targeted the old Classic Mac OS 9 which do not affect the modern Mac OS X (which is almost as different an architecture as Windows XP is from the Mac). Unlike viruses for earlier versions of Windows (eg Win 95) which can and do affect Windows XP, Mac OS 9 viruses cannot harm Mac OS X which ships with every new Mac (and has done so for 5 years now). The Classic environment has not been bundled with OS X for quite a while now.

Your report also mentions that "Viruses and spyware are also far less likely to target Macs than Windows PCs". This statement again while positive to the Mac platform also ignores how extreme the contrast is - there are *still* no reported instances of spyware or adware that work on the Mac.

Here are the raw statistics for your information:

Microsoft Windows:
Viruses and Worms = 140,000 (Symantec Security Focus)
Spyware and Adware programs = 78,000 (http://www.pestpatrol.com)
Burrowers = 40 (http://www.pestpatrol.com)
80% of PCs infected with spyware (webroot.com)
Last year (2004) alone:
- 500 new Trojans (http://www.pestpatrol.com)
- 500 new keyloggers (http://www.pestpatrol.com)
- 1,287 new adware apps (http://www.pestpatrol.com)
- 7,360 new viruses and worms (symantec.com)

Mac OS X:
Viruses and Worms = 0
Spyware programs = 0
Adware = 0
Keyloggers = 0
Burrowers = 0
Trojans = 3 (symantec.com)
Last year (2004):
- 1 Rootkit (symantec.com)

When you look at the actual data, it becomes pretty obvious that with zero
worms, viruses, spyware or adware recorded targeting it, the statement
"fewer viruses and spyware" sounds like a glaring misdirection. Mac OS X remains the safest, pest-free OS by a far larger margin than you imply, a fact which would get much larger attention in a more accurate report.

Note that Trojans can't spread by themselves - they are bits of code that
pretend to be something innocuous and need to be downloaded and opened by an
authorised user. In the case of the three targeting Mac OS X, two are
harmless while the third deletes a user's home directory if run by that
user.

Note also the Rootkit discovered on a couple of OS X machines is a set of
scripts that requires root access to be turned on (turned off by default on
all Macs). The hacker then also needs to know the root password and the
malware has no mechanism of spreading and infecting other computers by
itself.

Note that 37 vulnerabilities in Mac OS X noted last year (which were
promptly patched by Apple) does not constitute "increased attacks on OS X"
as some commentators have stated as no attacks using any of these
vulnerabilities have been recorded. Security firm Mi2g states: "Mac OS X
and BSD Unix are the "world's safest and most secure 24/7 online computing
environments."
http://www.mi2g.com/cgi/mi2g/frameset.php?pageid=http://www.mi2g.com/cgi/m
i2g/press/190204_2.php

John Gruber has a useful article on why Windows suffers so much malware:
http://daringfireball.net/2004/06/broken_windows

However, no software can be perfect and it would be foolish to say there
won't eventually appear some malware targeting the 15 million+ OS X users
out there - however, today is still not that day. Mac OS X has been sitting
untouched for 5 years now pretty much without blemish which speaks to a very
impressive security story even if/when some effective malware appears. This is something your clients should be hearing more about if they are going to make balanced decisions about which computer to buy.

Thanks for your time.

-Mart

We are reviewing this for the January issue of macCompanion and Alan Oppenheimer has been doing a great job over the years with trusted software apps:

http://www.opendoor.com/doorstopsuite/

I suggest some improvement to the MDN's take. It shall read as follows: " The ratio is more like 100,000 (and growing)-to-0 (AND REDUCING)"

You can't get lower than zero. LOL

Consumer Reports is probably counting viruses and such from Mac OS 9 and older, since there were about 70 or so, which is inline with the 80,000 or so viruses available for Windows, which probably has more viruses and other malware than actual software I suspect.

I think monkeys with a typewriter would be able to remember that OS X has no viruses....

I, as a consumer, HATE consumer reports

DudeMac, you have a point, but they should have added that OS X has zero viruses, it is noteworthy... Not mentioning it is as bad as lying about it.

By the way the MP3concept trojan doesn't work anymore since Tiger, and anyway it couldn't go very far since it needed to be in a zip or sit file to be transmited. Tiger forces .app extensions to be shown, Safari warns you when you download an application, and the Finder warns you when you start an app for the first time. Also, you cannot drag an application into the iTunes icon unless you hold some modifier keys, so that would give away the fact that its an app.

Also, Windows Macro viruses (Word/Excel) could only affect OS 9 and obviously Windows.

>>Not just emulation, but if I run WINE which will allow MacOS/Intel to run Windows apps natively, the question is will WINE allow Windows malware to run as well?

In theory, of course WINE could run a Windows virus on a Mac. However, in practice, WINE is still very much beta and tends to have to be adapted to work on a program-by-program basis. Therefore, its immature state would probably/possibly mean that the virus couldn't run. However, as WINE matures then it will become more and more likely. That said, most Windows viruses are designed to attack Windows-specific system files which won't, of course, exist on the Mac.

You have got to be kidding.

They say 10,000 to 1 for viruses between platforms (PC vs. Mac) and you're saying that they can't even say that?

Can you say 'bias?'

On second thought, why the hell am I even wasting my time writing this comment?

Name the one OS X virus.

There are several sources that estimate that there are over 100000 Windows viruses. If the ratio of Windows to Mac viruses were 1000 to 1, then there must be 100 Mac viruses. But even if you count the old Mac viruses that won't affect OS X, there are not even close to a hundred. And unless you can name one, there are no Mac OS X viruses.