Poisoned spam December 23, 2009, 12:22:04 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108737Folks, I've deleted Bob Quinn's membership until he can get his PC cleaned up. If you have a Windows PC, DO NOT click on any links in messages from him--either posts to this group or private emails. The links in these virus-generated messages lead to web pages that will infect *your* Windows PC with more malware! (Mac owners are unaffected, as usual.)Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Poisoned spam Reply #1 – December 23, 2009, 12:39:38 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108738Tsk!, tsk!, tsk!. OS politics is OT, too ;o)But seriously, folks should not be mis-led into believing Macs are inherently protected from various exploits by trouble-makers. The trouble-makers simply have not bothered because there's more low hanging fruit in PC-land. For example, http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE56S77Q20090730OTOH, Google's Chrome OS DOES appear to have more inherent resistance to current exploits than current OS'.best, paul"Thriving not surviving" - Paul Schaye (at 2008 NYC Marathon) - See our website at www. LazyDazers.com
Re: Poisoned spam Reply #2 – December 23, 2009, 02:59:29 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108741"folks should not be mis-led into believing Macs are inherently protected from various exploits by trouble-makers." You're right, Paul: it is *possible* to write viruses that attack Macs. It's just that nobody bothers. :-)Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Poisoned spam Reply #3 – December 23, 2009, 03:08:35 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108742If you have a Windows PC, DO NOT click on any links in messages from him--either posts to this group or private emails. I really don't understand why anyone would click on a link in an email, especially one where there is no subject line and nothing in the body of the email other than the link. I won't even click on a link in an email I KNOW is legitimate...like one from my bank telling me my monthly statement is ready to view online!Linda Hylton http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167 http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/
Re: Poisoned spam Reply #4 – December 23, 2009, 03:19:39 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108744I guess you missed the following:"Security experts have identified at least three viruses infecting Macs over the past year."in: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE56S77Q20090730Resting on security through obscurity is not a good long term strategy...best, paul"Thriving not surviving" - Paul Schaye (at 2008 NYC Marathon) - See our website at www. LazyDazers.com
Re: Poisoned spam & Mac Security Reply #5 – December 23, 2009, 05:06:59 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108747Thanks Andy, As far as Mac security I run Gatekeeper from Yoggie.com & Intego's Virus Barrier 5. Not wanting to pass any infected files on to my PC using friends. Best, Jim Pappas Apache Junction, AZ
Re: Poisoned spam Reply #6 – December 23, 2009, 09:42:07 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108756QuoteBut seriously, folks should not be mis-led into believing Macs are inherently protected from various exploits by trouble-makers. The trouble-makers simply have not bothered because there's more low hanging fruit in PC-land. For example, Worse yet, since most Mac OS are off-target, many owners are not running up-to-date protection, or any at all. As a result they may be unaware of the malware and unwittingly passing it on to the rest of us...Steve
Re: Poisoned spam Reply #7 – December 24, 2009, 08:43:17 am Yahoo Message Number: 108763A couple of questions. Shouldn't Yahoo Groups, be protecting groups against this problems? With either Macs and PC operating systems. Also, once a virus protection, gets wide spread commercial acceptance, then doesn't it become a target? Over the years, my solution, has been to use one browser, for everyday stuff and a different one, for more sensitive things. I never save user names or PWs, and clear all date before and after use....it has worked so far.
Re: Poisoned spam Reply #8 – December 24, 2009, 09:59:05 am Yahoo Message Number: 108764To be semi-bullet-proof, use a linux-on-a disk, (knoppix, ubuntu, etc). Malware has nothing to write to except memory which is wiped at each restart. Use on-line resources for storage and interaction with your home system. ...and hope the on-line resources are not co-opted.[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Poisoned spam Reply #9 – December 24, 2009, 01:52:08 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108770"Shouldn't Yahoo Groups, be protecting groups against this problems?" In an ideal world, Yahoo would scan all URLs in posts. But apparently they don't have the money to do so, so the burden falls on us users. Browsers like Firefox and Safari do a fairly good job of warning about dangerous websites; I'm not sure that Internet Explorer does. (Most security experts I've read about strongly recommend not using IE for this among other reasons.) "many [Mac] owners are not running up-to-date protection, or any at all. As a result they may be unaware of the [Windows] malware and unwittingly passing it on to the rest of us." Good point, Douglas. I've installed the free utility iAntivirus on my Macs for this reason: to prevent passing on any Windows malware. It has never found a problem, but I figure it's better to be safe than sorry. By the way, I've been in contact with Bob Quinn by email, and he reports that he's found three Trojans on his PC so far, and is continuing to check for other malware. Meanwhile, he's using his wife's Mac. ;-) Hopefully nothing else will turn up, and I'll be able to restore his membership in the group in the next few days.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Poisoned spam Reply #10 – December 29, 2009, 10:19:38 am Yahoo Message Number: 108798QuoteGood point, Douglas. I've installed the free utility iAntivirus on my Macs for this reason: to prevent passing on any Windows malware. It has never found a problem, but I figure it's better to be safe than sorry. Andy & others using the free iAntivirus, iAntivirus does not check for Windows viruses. Here is a quote from their web site. "The iAntiVirus™ database is not cluttered with signatures for Windows specific threats which your Mac is immune against." It is very good at checking for any Mac specific threats but will not keep your Mac from spreading Windows viruses.MontiMonument, CO
Re: Poisoned spam Reply #11 – December 29, 2009, 10:28:57 am Yahoo Message Number: 108799"iAntivirus does not check for Windows viruses." Thanks for the correction, Monti! I missed that important point. So we're back to the basics: it's up to everyone to protect their own machine.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Topic: Poisoned spam (Read 2 times)
previous topic - next topic
Topic: Poisoned spam (Read 2 times)
previous topic - next topic