Comments on: McAfee: New botnets dwarf Conficker threat

Looking beyond the Conficker worm, a new security report notes a 50 percent increase in the number of zombie PCs over 2008, plus cyberthreats such as Vundo.

[The_happy_switcher]

Windows: The gift that keeps on giving--to thieves, scam artists, spammers, etc. etc.

[Michichael]

And yet in competition, Windows, Mac, or Linux could be hacked into until browsers were allowed as an attack vector... interesting...

Even more interesting being that Mac's are retardedly easy to crack because they have no countermeasures at all most of the time, unlike Windows - because they're so virgin to the real world where things of value are actually stored on them in enough quantity to attract hackers. After all, the MacBook was the first one to be cracked once browsers were allowed, simply because the players in the competition did not have to fight through countermeasures - just find a niche and exploit it.

Face it, AppleRocks1963, all OS's have their pro's and cons. However, security through obscurity is not a pro in the Mac's corner - you're just delusional if you believe it is.

[adhetola]

@Michichael,
I love your response!

I also wonder why the Apple Fanboiz (lol) never seem to remember than in 2 years running, back-to-back, their OS has been the first and easiest to crack, yet they claim "secure right out of the box".

I think that's laughable.

[The_happy_switcher]

"And yet in competition, Windows, Mac, or Linux could be hacked into until browsers were allowed as an attack vector... interesting..." Yeah and if I let you in my house and give you my password to my Mac that would prove it's unsecure, too, right?

[ballmerisanape]

Michichael,

A self replicating program cannot install itself on a Mac and spread through a network without direct user knowledge. It cant happen. If it can, please explain....

Before a little over a 2 years ago, Windows allowed just about anything to happen without user knowledge. It took Microsoft until XPSP3 to start filling the gaping holes in their OS.

There is just no denying that MS sat on their hands much, much too long.. and lazily relied on 3rd party solutions for their OWN security issues. Mom and Pa shouldn't have to know where to find "free AV" software... they should have to be left out in the cold when the preinstalled Norton stops working.

No matter how you spin Mac/PC security.. it's the PC side that has the problem. Some computer nerd that spend weeks coming up with an exploit that he needed physical access to implement is not the same as MILLIONS of dollars spent each year just to keep an OS running! It amazes me that so many people thinks MS laziness is OK!!!

[Seaspray0]

@balmerisanape. It did happen on the mac. I suggest you go look at the last pawn2own contest. The only thing required was browsing to a malicious website. No other action required. The computer was compromised. Do you really think that because virus writers are ignoring the mac platform that it can't be hacked? IT HAPPENED.

[kcotham]

@Seaspray
That only happened in a controlled environment. It required an action from the user (clicking a malicious link). These things do not happen to Macintosh computers in the wild. But Windows computers can't spend 1 hour on the Internet without being bombarded by viruses, trojan horses, worms, spyware, adware, and just general malware. My neighbours asked me to help them with their Windows XP machine this past week. I couldn't even open up and run the antivirus software. It kept launching ads and a fake antivirus program instead. It wouldn't even respond to mouse clicks eventually. I had to boot it into safe mode and install a new antivirus program. The blasted thing kept opening ads in IE (worst browser ever). It eventually found 116 infected files. Once cleaned, the system was incapable of booting up normally. I did save all the user data and had to reinstall Windows XP. I tried to talk them into running Xubuntu, but as is most common, they had no idea how to do anything but tool around in Windows. This is a prime example of a regular user experience, and why I will never use a Windows machine as my primary computer. There are too many superior alternatives out there. There is no reason why any sane, rational human being would purposely subject themselves to Windows.

Oh, and the next day, my other neighbour called me in a panic. Microsoft Word had erased half of her research paper. I've never seen Open Office or Pages or AbiWord or any other word processor/desktop publishing program do that. Only a Microsoft product would commit such an egregious sin.

[monkeyfun14]

@ballmer

Does it matter how long it took for the exploit to be found?

It was still found and weeks is not that long of a time to find a exploit most exploits in Windows take months or years to find.

[The_happy_switcher]

Microsoft needs to apology for its shoddy software and beg for the world's forgiveness. If Ballmer were Chinese and Microsoft a Chinese company he would have been executed long ago.

[adhetola]

:D

[Seaspray0]

If you want to talk about shoddy software, you should read this first....

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10154662-83.html
The Macintosh and base Linux kernel operating systems have dominated the top spots for vulnerabilities by operating system over the past three years

[kcotham]

@Seaspray
If you actually read the article, those were numbers on the amount of vulnerabilities that were disclosed to the public. The article said nothing about how severe those vulnerabilities were or if they were being used. Might I suggest a course on improving your reading comprehension?

[monkeyfun14]

@kco

It doesn't matter still more vulnerabilities my friend.

[kcotham]

@monkeyfun
That is not what the article said, please reread it.

[Seaspray0]

@kcotham. I quoted directly from the article and provided the link. No spin, no twists, just the truth. That's more than I can say for you. You have no clue how many viruses there are in the Atlanta CDC, yet you have no objection claiming you've seen a windows computers that have more. Might I suggest you quit lying and spinning the truth.

[nrg.dude]

Regardless of the OS, the basic responsibility belongs to the individual. A person with H1N1 flu cannot board public transportation yet hundreds of millions of infected computers link through ISPs to the Internet. It would be "retardedly easy" to make that illegal and have the ISPs block the user. They then send them a warning with links to the free antivirus/malware removal software most ISPs offer to clean the computer. When done, a quick check and they are back on online. Responsible Internet citizens know that they need to use protection; it is the 50+% ignorant of the basic need for virus/malware protection that cause the SPAM and other problems we all suffer from. It is basic Internet courtesy to use only a protected computer.

[BogusBasin]

HaaaHaaHa! But PCs cost so much less! HaaaHaaHa!

Amen

[BogusBasin]

Oh but but but, you can get free avg! You can run so many more programs! It costs less. It has a registry you can edit! You can drop into a command line and type a bunch of Klingon to get things done. Did I mention it costs less? You Mac people are niche. You are smug. You spend too much. My machine can run more viruses, I mean software! I don't have problems because I keep it updated every single hour with free programs that I get from the Internet all day long for free and it doesn't cost me anything. You spend too much with your worthless OSX that costs too much and isn't compatible with my trojan or my spyware! Nobody cares about consumer reports when you have to pay more! Amen

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/05/04/macbooks_sweep_latest_consumer_reports_scores.html

[monkeyfun14]

@Bogus

I love your FUD ridden views the average user will never touch the registry.

And I find it funny you point out us using the command prompt thats why that a good majority of the solutions to Apple problems require typing commands in the terminal?

[kcotham]

@monkey
Name one.

[Vegaman_Dan]

@BogusBasin:

Your comments and link to the AppleInsider blog posting have already been debunked as incomplete and misleading. You need to actually subscribe to the consumer reports site to get to the article content which only compares laptop hardware, not operating systems.

It wasn't a comparison of OS X and Windows at all. You would know this if you read the original article instead of taking a blog posting as your evidence.

[kcotham]

Just cleaned up the neighbour's computer this past week. You couldn't do anything at all on it. It was completely hijacked by trojan horses, viruses, and worms. I had to boot it into safe mode to even run the antivirus program. Eventually, I had to reinstall the whole OS (WIndows XP). There were 116 infected files. I have NEVER seen this on anything but a Windows machine. Say what you will about hacking into a Macintosh (requires user's co-operation), but I've never seen a Macintosh rendered useless from malware. I highly recommend everyone that uses Windows to switch to using Linux/Solaris/BSD/Darwin/Mac OSX. By nature these *NIX operating systems are more secure.

If you insist on continuing to use Windows, please, for the love of God, use anti-malware programs!

[monkeyfun14]

Hacking into any machine requires user cooperation.

In Vista UAC stops any unauthorized programs from running.

Its not like you can just put a Windows machine on the internet and have it hacked with no user cooperation.

I think your paycheck from Apple is in your mailbox better go get it.

[Editors' note: Personal attack deleted]

[kcotham]

@monkeyfun
I can surf the same web sites, carry out the same actions as a computer running Windows, yet my Macintosh or Linux machine is virus free. And even if a trojan horse or worm is downloaded onto one of my machines in an e-mail, it never executes. And by some miracle it ever did, it'd only infect that user, not the entire OS, as is the case with Windows.

Please stop engaging in trolling and flaming. Personal attacks are against policy.

[Dalkorian]

by monkeyfun14 May 5, 2009 1:32 PM PDT
In Vista UAC stops any unauthorized programs from running.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

ROFLMAO!

Oh wow, thanks monkeyboy. I haven't laughed that hard in days.

[Arnold Reinhold]

What percentage of those 12 million new computers hijacked since January are Macs? Cybercrime is a competitive business. There are millions of Macs in use and the typical Mac user is wealthier than the typical PC user, making them more lucrative targets. If Macs are so easy to attack why aren't cyber criminals doing it?

[ikramerica--2008]

Stop making sense!

The only malware I ever find on my parents' macs is that stupid HP phone home software they install with printer drivers, even when you say not to. ;)

[monkeyfun14]

@Arnold


The combined wealth of billions of Windows PC's are much more then a few Mac's and the assumptions that only poor people buy PC's is what stops people from buying Mac's in the first place.

Let me give you a lesson in marketing generally insulting your potential customers doesn't make sales.

[pithenumber]

let say
there are 1000 people in a room
900 average people have $25 for a total of $22500
100 rich people have $100 for a total of $10000

if you were told that you can scam all of the same type of people with one technique
what group of people will you try harder to scam?

[Dalkorian]

Please, no one remind these winblows apologists that Mac OS 9 had viruses for it, in the wild, yet OS X does not. They might pop their little heads trying to make a "market share" argument about that one!

[gthurman]

Isn't it time that we reduced our position as the world's police? The solution is simple. If the attacks are coming from China, we notify them that in 30 days ALL Internet traffic from their country will be blocked, including the business to business links to The Great Wal of Mart. In less than 90 days, after a few heads rolled, literally, the threat would drop appreciably.

[kcotham]

Most malware comes from the United States of America, China is in second place. Most Americans are either too stupid or too lazy to secure their computers.

[monkeyfun14]

@kco

I find it interesting how you call Americans stupid even though we are the most advanced country in the world how ironic.

[kcotham]

@monkeyfun
Your misuse of the word "ironic" only proves my point and it doesn't change the fact that most people are too lazy or stupid to understand how to secure their computers. Computers aren't enthusiast machines anymore. They have been relegated to the realm of appliances. Very few people ever take the time to learn the inner workings of their appliances.

To paraphrase George Carlin, "you know how stupid the average person is? Think for a moment that half the people are dumber than that!"

[gertruded]

The problem is Windows, case closed. It is so obvious that the arguments for Windows are laughable.

[Vegaman_Dan]

The article failed to note that Macitntosh systems are now part of the botnet and unfortunately the brain washing that Apple has been doing to their customer base has made them believe that it is impossible for a Mac to become compromised- no need to take any security precautions, of course.

Now the Mac botnet is alive and well. Those infected never even know it is happening. They never know that their personal information is now being broadcast to the highest bidder. :/

Everyone should take precautions with their online activity. Just be sensible regardless what OS you are running because in the end, they all get compromised.

[hoocares]

@V_D

Should the article also note that to become part of the Mac botnet you have to:
1 - Go download some stolen software from a warez site
2 - Give your admin password to install it on your computer
3 - Congrats, your now part of the Mac botnet.

There's no system that can protect against that kind of stupid.

[Dalkorian]

Reading these comments, I'm starting to think the biggest problem is the fact that some people have trouble distinguishing between a virus (a piece of code that is capable of copying itself and typically has a detrimental effect), a worm (a self-replicating program able to propagate itself across a network, typically having a detrimental effect) and a trojan horse (a program designed to breach the security of a computer system while ostensibly performing some innocuous function - in simple terms malware that tricks the user into installing it). Once we get people to figure out they are different flavors of malware, we can start teaching them something about security.

Until then, they'll just keep defending winblows. Why? Because they don't see viruses, worms and trojan horses around them, they just see "malware" (typically misnamed "virus" by them, likely because it's become such a common term thanks in part to the swiss cheese security winblows has always and likely always will suffer). Every OS ever designed by man has and will be vulnerable to trojans due to the nature of them, therefore all OS's are "lacking in security" to the winblows user.