Are Intel based Macs more prone to Viruses than PPC based Macs?

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Level 6

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Are Intel based Macs more prone to Viruses than PPC based Macs?

I do not now, nor have I ever run A-V software. Nor have I ever had an issue with any kind of viruses, malware, spyware etc. However, I read an article in our local newspaper recently that even Macs, particularly Intel based Macs, are vulnerable to viruses. So, as a newcomer to the world of Intel Macs, the question suddenly takes on new significance and urgency. I do plan to run Windows on my MBP (as soon as I get the computer and set it up), and will likely use an emulator like VirtualBox. I have run VPC on my Pismo for years, and viruses have never been an issue, albeit I used Windows only for short periods at a time. So, is this a legitimate concern? What specific measures do I need to take, if it is, indeed, a concern?

😉 cornelius

Message was edited by: cornelius

PismoG4 550, 120GB 5400 Seagate internal, 1 GB RAM; Pismo 500 OS X (10.4.11), Mac OS X (10.4.11), Beige G3 OS 8.6

Posted on Mar 16, 2009 9:57 AM

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Answer 1

Mar 16, 2009 10:12 AM in response to cornelius

Hi Cornelius,

There are no viruses that affect Mac OS X in the wild - that applies to both Intel and PPC macs (so, the article you read was wrong - but as a side note, you may want to check out this WC thread, apologies to those that cannot access it). There are some MS Word Macro 'trojans' around, etc., but nothing to cause concern. If you run Windows on your Mac (via BootCamp or virtualization), then the Windows partition/virtual machine is as vulnerable to the myriad of viruses that affect Windows PCs as any other Windows PC out there (any impact would be confined to that partition/virtual machine). Be sure to run appropriate anti-virus/anti-spyware/anti-malware software in the Windows partition/virtual machine.

Personally, I run Windows XP in Parallels on occasion, but my virtual machine is an image of a work-provided PC, thus corporate IT security software is running and has regularly-pushed updates.

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Answer 2

cornelius Author

Level 6

17,826 points

Mar 19, 2009 8:46 PM in response to neuroanatomist

Thanks, neuroanatomist. It is reassuring, and much as I thought.

😉 cornelius

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Answer 3

cornelius Author

Level 6

17,826 points

Apr 7, 2009 5:46 PM in response to neuroanatomist

neuroanatomist:

I recently installed VMware Fusion and was able to successfully convert my VPC XP Pro virtual machine to VMware and Leopard. My question here is, what are the risks of infection? I will not be doing email in XP Pro, and will not be using a browser much.

😉 cornelius

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Answer 4

Yer_Man

Level 10

165,978 points

Apr 7, 2009 11:32 PM in response to cornelius

Running Windows in VM Ware or Parrallels or Bootcamp is precisely as prone to infection as running Windows on Dell, HP or whatever. The problem is the OS (Windows) not the hardware.

Regards

TD

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Answer 5

Apr 8, 2009 5:53 AM in response to cornelius

As TD states, your Windows installation running as a virtual machine is as vulnerable as any Windows PC. If you won't be accessing email, and limit your web browsing, you'll be somewhat safer - but, I'd definitely recommend running AV software even so. There is quite a bit of malware/spyware that will install itself upon visiting some websites, and it can be easier than you think to run into one of those sites (for example, accidentally leaving out a 'p' when typing apple.com into a browser address bar redirects you to another site - 2sale.com; that one seems innocuous, but that's not always the case).

Note that VMware comes with a free 12-month subscription to McAfee VirusScan® Plus, so for the time being there's no need to purchase additional AV software, just make sure you keep McAfee running and up to date.

On the up side, if your virtual machine does become infected, the problems will remain confined to the virtual machine. Should you need to, you can roll back to a previous snapshot, or, if you set it up as a virtual disk virtual machine (i.e. VWware is not accessing a Boot Camp partition, but rather the virtual machine is stored as a file in the Mac OS), then the virtual machine is backed up along with your other files as part of your routine backup strategy.

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Answer 6

cornelius Author

Level 6

17,826 points

Apr 8, 2009 5:19 PM in response to neuroanatomist

Thanks.

😉 cornelius

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