IT Solutions Blog | Trigon Technology

IT Solutions - Malware and Macs

 

When people think of Macs they tend to think of the fact that they’re not as bogged down with malware as Windows computers can be.  There are a few different ideas on why that is.  Some think it’s because Mac is built with a UNIX like kernel which is supposed to be more secure, while others think it’s because Windows has the larger market share which means that it’s the bigger target.  Regardless of the why, the fact is that Macs do have fewer pieces of malware than Windows.. but could that change?  Malware can be written to exploit vulnerabilities within the operating system but it can also do the same for 3^rd party software that Apple or Microsoft did not write.  This was the cause of a recent outbreak of malware on Mac computers that took advantage of a vulnerability in Java.  Mac uses a version of Java that Apple specifically designed for it so any updates for it are handled by Apple.  In this instance the Mac version of Java had not been completely up to date based off of the security patches that Java releases and because of this about 600,000 Macs were infected with the malware named Flashback.  Apple has since released a tool to remove Flashback and also released a patch for Java to bring it to the current version. 

 

Users of Mac computers have been so used to the fact that they didn’t have to worry about malware but is that about to change?  The Mac platform is still currently more secure than Windows but with the popularity of Mac computers increasing, in my opinion I think it is time to start exploring the anti-virus software available for Macs.  If you have any questions about Macs or security software for your company then give us a call and see how we can assist you. 

 

IT Expert Advice: How to Avoid the Work Of Cybercriminals

Searching for your favorite celebrity may be dangerous to your computers health, yikes!  A recent report released this week from McAfee covers the most dangerous celebrity names on the internet this year.  The number one most dangerous celebrity is Jessica Biel.  A search for the words "Jessica Biel screensavers" revealed that around 50% of the sites that appeared contained viruses.  I am not going to go through the entire list here, but some other dangerous names were: Beyonce #2 and Jennifer Aniston #3. The entire list can be found here from McAfee.  The top fifteen are listed on the site, as well as numerous others that are lower on the list.  So what does this teach us?  Cybercriminals are paying attention to what is most popular in order to attempt to get their malicious code spread to as many unsuspecting people as they can.  Monitoring what we like to view online gives them an easier way to reach as many people as they can.  So should you stop looking up Britney Spears to see what new crazy thing she is doing now? This IT Expert says no! As always, if your computer is unprotected you are playing with fire.  If your anti-virus definitions are up to date, and practice the basic rules of internet security, you should be ok.  But be careful out there, even the most innocent looking site can hide something dangerous.