Mac Viruses
Mac viruses are far and few but they do
exist. The best thing that you can do for your Mac is to follow the instructions below or purchase a program like Internet Cleanup 5 from Smith Micro. Remember to keep your kids safe too from all the bad things they can see on-line. The best thing I have found for the Mac is SafeEyes. Click on the link above to find out more.
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Mac Viruses There are no knows Mac viruses in the wild.
It's not that they can't get viruses, it's just that all the hackers are having too
much fun taking down Windows to bother with the Mac. As the Mac gains
in popularity, you can be sure that viruses and cyber attacks will
follow. There is a Mac Trojan. A Trojan is named after the Trojan horse of ancient times. It
comes as a gift and you unknowingly let it in to wreak havoc and
destruction. It's a trick that has worked for over 3,000 years. This
Trojan is called the DNS-changing Trojan. Here's how it works. You go
to a porn site (d'oh) and instead of a wooden horse, you are offered a
free porn video to view but you must first download a new codec. (
First warning, nothing is for free!) You click on the link to download
the codec and the Trojan is released. Your Mac will ask you if you want
to install the program and it needs your administrative password.
(Second warning. Any time your Mac asks you for your administrative
password something big is going on.) You enter your password and
nothing happens. No naked girl or anything. (Third warning. You
didn't get what you wanted. The only thing naked now is your Mac!)
You have now just given the hacker free access to all your passwords
and credit card info. to places like Amazon, Goggle, EBay. MacMall,
iTunes store, etc. Now they can go shopping on your dime!
So,
how do you protect yourself? Virus programs don't do anything about
Trojans because you let them in. Here are a seven simple things that
you can do to protect yourself without spending a dime.
1.
Don't surf porn sites! (Duh) Buy a Playboy magazine. It's safer. Porn
sites are loaded with bad stuff waiting to attack you. The only thing
that might attack you if you get caught purchasing a Playboy magazine
is your wife when you bring it home.
2. While in Safari, click
on the word Safari in the menu bar on the upper left hand side or your
screen next to the blue apple. Drag down to Preferences. At the tool
bar on the top click on General. Look toward the middle of this page
and find the box that says, "Open safe files after downloading". Make
sure that this box is not checked. If it is, click on it to make the
check mark go away.
3. Activate your built-in firewall. Launch
System Preferences. It is either on your Dock or under the blue apple
in your menu bar. Click on Sharing. Here, you will see three tabs.
Services, Firewall and Internet. Click on Firewall. Now click on the
Start button to activate your Firewall. Close the window.
4.
Do not download and install anything from a web site that you have
never been to before. Only download from trusted sites like Apple,
Amazon, Version tracker and so on.
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5. Do not use LimeWire or
Kazaa to get free music. It is illegal and you can pay big fines for
such down loads. A woman was just fined $9,250 per song! I think I'd
rather pay 99¢ at the iTunes store. Don't download free movies either.
Nothing is for free! Watch your kids. They are experts and do this all
the time and you don't even know it! I can't tell you how many times I
have deleted these programs from the Mac's of unsuspecting parents of
high school or college kids. The RIAA will hang your butt out to dry!
Not your kids. I'd rather see you pay for their college than pay for
their fines. These so called free music and movie sites are also the
host of viruses and bad things. Just say No! It's just like cheating on
your taxes. Can you do it? Sure. Will you get caught? Maybe. Is it
worth the price if you do? NO! So don't do it.
6. Make sure you
run Apple's Software Update at least once a week. Even if you have it
set to automatically check, it won't if your computer is sleeping.
Check it manually to make sure. It's under the blue apple in the menu
bar. Always apply all security updates. They patch holes that hackers
can enter.
7. When at a public WiFi hot spot like Panera
Bread, pretend that you are naked and that everyone around you can see
everything you do and can have anything of yours that they want. Don't
do your on-line banking. Don't purchase anything from anywhere! There
are bad people waiting to steel from you. Use these places to surf the
net and check your E-mail. That's it. Wait until you get home.
If performing the instructions listed above scare you or if you just want to be extra cautious, click on the link for Internet Cleanup 5 by Smith Micro. It is a great way to keep your Mac safe and to give you peace of mind.
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