Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Macs and Viruses:
Apple, along with most computer experts, agree that viruses plaguing Windows PC's are generally not a threat to Mac OS X. The extremely secure UNIX engine that runs the Mac OS, plus lower market share, helps keep your Mac safe. However, the threat level may have been raised yesterday.
An anonymous programmer claimed to have created a worm (a virus that replicates itself on infected computers) that, in concept, could cause problems for Mac users.
The virus has not been released in the wild so there is no need for alarm. Researchers are currently testing the programmer's claims.
Protect Yourself:
No computer operating system is completely safe. These guidelines will help you avoid malicious threats:
- Access: Shut Down or put your computer to Sleep when not in use — particularly if you use a broadband Internet connection.
- Networks: Never use an unsecured/unencrypted wireless network to send or receive sensitive data. Passwords and other confidential information are easily sniffed.
- Privacy: Set Safari to only allow cookies from sites you visit (Safari > Preferences > Advanced).
- Phishing: Firefox helps prevent phishing scams by checking with Google's vast database of fraudulent Websites to keep you from them (Firefox > Preferences > Security).
- Links: Never follow links contained in emails to banks, PayPal or other financial-related Websites. Instead, visit the site by typing the bank's address directly into your browser (i.e., www.citibank.com)
- Opt Out: Banks, online stores and ISP's offer users the opportunity to opt out of marketing messages. Opting out means less junk mail and greatly reduces the chance of exposing personal data.
- Credit Cards: Choose the option offered by most Websites not to store your credit card information. Also, avoid using debit cards.
- SPAM — Delete First, Ask Questions Later: Any email marked as SPAM should be deleted immediately. If you suspect email is incorrectly marked as SPAM, contact the sender directly.
- Firewall: Turn on the built-in Mac OS X Firewall (Apple Menu > System Preferences > Sharing > Firewall and press "Start").
- Antivirus Applications: There are antivirus programs for Macintosh. Here are a few:
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Back Up: This is the most important step in protecting your data. Please see our Special Issue of iFAQ's for information on backing up your data.
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iTunes and QuickTime Updated:
The latest Apple updates in the pipeline are iTunes 7.3.1 and QuickTime 7.2. Techmuscle recommends you apply both updates via Software Update (Apple Menu > Software Update) using these guidelines:
For Advanced Users:
The iTunes standalone updater is here and the QuickTime updater is here.