On Feb 27, 2010, at 9:42 AM, Lawrence David Eden wrote:
Can connecting a Mac to my school's internet cause problems?
I was told by our "tech person" that connecting my old iMac at
school will cause viruses.
I was wise enough not to argue the point, because the simple fact
that they were concerned was all I needed to realize that I was
going to lose any argument....
I am hoping to re-open the issue at school.....where can I find the
facts?
Hopefully that is the phrasing they used. A computer can not cause a
virus. An uninformed user can download and install one, but a
computer that is not infected can not spontaneously cause one. Push
for more educated users.
From the ClamXav.com page:
Back in the days before OS X, the number of viruses which attacked
Macintosh users totalled somewhere between about 60 and 80. Today,
the number of viruses actively attacking OS X users is...NONE!
However, this doesn't mean we should get complacent about checking
incoming email attachments or web downloads, for two reasons.
Firstly, there's no guarantee that we Mac users will continue to
enjoy the status quo, but more importantly, the majority of the
computing world use machines running MS Windows, for which an
enormous quantity of viruses exist, so we must be vigilant in
checking the files we pass on to our friends and colleagues etc.
For example, if you're a wise person and you've turned MS Office's
macro support off then you're not going to notice that virus which
is hiding inside this month's edition of Extreme Ironing.doc which
your friend sent you. If you then forward that document to a less
wise person who has not turned off the macro support, then you have
most likely just sent him a shiny new Pandora's Box with a sign
saying "Open this end"!
And that is from the most widely used Mac antivirus program. Which is
free because no one will pay for something that is not needed.
Also, a quick quote from Craig's LIst help page on spam and such:
We've set up our email servers to prevent virus/worm email
relaying. As always, be wary of unknown attachments, and if you are
a Windows user, keep your anti-virus software up-to-date.
You notice they specifically mention Windows. Even Craig's list knows
we are safe.
My take is the same as Dan's. Ignorance and job security issues. I
will see companies with 40-50 computers on a site with 2-3 full time
techs. Ask Bruce what his ratio is for Mac support and you will see
what we are talking about.
Try googling for Mac Viruses. When I did (with no ad blocking
software) there were no sponsored links (ads) on the right. ie; No
one thinks it is worth anything to pay google to direct them to their
site when someone searches for them. You don't even get a link to Mac
antivirus software, ClamXav, until the second page. Google for
Windows virus and see how many companies are out there to make money
off of that problem.
Here is Apple's page on the issue:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/security/
HTH,
Len
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