and someone could write a multiplataform virus in x86 assembler, that
looks if you are running Windows or MacOS x86 and then performs the
correct attack.
Rgds,
Fernando
There seems to be a few things about computers you misunderstand. There
is nothing magical about a virus, it is simply a (smallish) computer
program - a collection of bytes. For it to do it's Dark Deeds it has to
get into the computer and be executed by the microprocessor.
And this is the main point: a cable from the internet to your machine
does nothing. There has to be programs running on the computer - an
operating system - that polls the port and receives packets of
information. What it does with this information is entirely up to the
operating system. If it is stupid enough to execute whatever program
codes are in that package, THEN a virus or spyware could get in. The
virus is not a living thing, it cannot actively sneak into your
computer by itself.
Now, Windows does lots of stupid things with received material, that
make it possible for malware to infect the computer and spread to
others. A Unix system - such as Mac OSX - is much more careful about
handling what it receives, and program processes have clearly defined
access privileges, not wide open access to the entire system.
It's late and I'm tired, so I don't know if I manage to explain this
comprehensibly. But trying to sum up: nothing can "get into" your
computer unless the computer lets it. Fetches it, to be more precise.
So you see, it's not the underlying hardware that matters, but the
software. Windows running on a PowerPC would be just as susceptible to
malware as it is when running on Intel chips. And conversely: OSX
running on Intel chips is just as safe as if running on PowerPC or
anything else.
Of course, it is not unthinkable that some twisted genius might find a
way through the security measures of a Unix system. But that has
nothing to do with the type of microprocessor
Hope this clarifies things a bit 8-)
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