heard 2 days ago first mac virus

Think of the definition of a, "Trojan Horse." You open the gates and let the Trojan Horse in, not knowing that there is something inside. The danger is you download a movie or something from a peer to peer sight and unwittingly get an uninvited guest. The guest is a royal pain in the ***, but he doesn't have babies that invade the rest of the computer world tearing down everbody's gates in the process.

PC friends tell me first mac virus discovered last week

True?

Quite a lot of misinformation here, and sadlymany people STILL THINK anything on the internet has to be true.

Viruses on computers from Apple are nothing new, used to be dozens in the 80s. Now, a Virus on Mac OS X is something else. Of course, seems the average person these days can't really determine the difference between the oldschool trojan, etc.

"PC friends tell me first mac virus discovered last week"

And how are those PC viruses working out for your friends? ;)

I would still stay away from these sites if for nothing else to set a good example for your son by not stealing copyrighted material. You do not have to "install" video files and you will not be asked for any password but their can be things hidden in the video envelope. But currently none of them would affect your Mac.

keith --

For someone so worried about getting a virus, it's surprising that you're so blase about torrents

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Dangers-of-Peer-to-Peer-Systems&id=12806

http://www.security-faqs.com/why-peer-to-peer-networks-pose-a-danger-to-the-aver age-user.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Dangers-of-Peer-To-Peer-Sharing&id=5770735

I download lots of tv shows from pirate bay.

I wouldn't go near a torrent site - ever. I prefer to do the right thing and pay for it. And I don't do business on questionable sites.

None you know about.. 😉 .. just saying.

Since so much of the stuff for download on torrent site is infected with malware, I avoid them.

What good is easier downloads if you are getting stuff that is infected?

Allan

There are P2P sites that also have pirated applications. Those applications are very much suspect as you are downloading code. These pirated applications are notorious for containing malware.

Downloading media files (as long as you stay current with security updates), are less likely to contain malware that affects your Mac.

Also if a media download says you need to install a special driver to view the media file, that is often a trick to get you to install malware pretending to be a driver. This was actually one of the first successful Trojan attacks against Mac OS X (sex sells 🙂).

Right, keith . . .

I really do hope you got it.

I would no more open up my operating systems, HD, and all my files to any unknown people, then fly.

All the best!

With both malware and trojans, you actively accept

what you have gotten and install it, and reaping the

consequences.

Some people which are way to trusting will blindly

install something because some website says

you need to. These folks I do feel somewhat sorry

for.

But, those that get infected by installing something

in an attempt to "beat the system", deserve what

they get.

Bottom line, if you didn't ask for it, don't accept it.

And only install material from well known and trusted

vendor sights, i.e. if a sight says you need Flash, go

to Adobe and get it.