does clicking on the top right hand X of the windows proper count as permission? how about those flash(?) popups that occur inside a window? is it bad to click them away? thanks.
It can, if the malware users have been especially tricksy about invisible frames and such.
You’re best bet is to close it with ALT + F4, or by rightclicking on its icon on the taskbar and selecting Close Window. If that doesn’t work, you can open the task manager (rightclick on the systray and choose Task Manager) and close it from the applications tab.
Flash popups are worse than a herpes outbreak. I wouldn’t click on one directly. But often, you can just close the tab without having to shut down your browser. If it seizes control and won’t let you close the tab, then proceed as above.
Once you get back into your browser then go install ad block and possibly no-script to keep browser malware at bay. (Or do it now, and avoid the risk.)
Meh. Installed base isn’t all that different than marketshare, for Apple. I’m too tired to look further atm, but here’s an article from Ars Tech, from about a year ago, claiming that Mac’s NA installed base is only about 11%, and their global install base is about 5%. So close enough to the marketshare numbers I mentioned up thread not to make much difference, even if we assume some growth from them in the last year.
The problem with the installed base arguement is that it’s treated like a ‘get out of jail free’ card. By that I mean: Okay, they don’t have as many numbers as Microsoft, that’s just one MANY net benefits to the platform.
Having a Microkernalised Un*x variant that’s been well configured to wall-off the individual to the guts of the OS goes a long way in keeping the OS safe.
Are there ways to pop it? Sure, but so far 99% of them rely on tricking the user into doing something stupid. If anything, since the Mac, iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, and iPod Touch are all webkit based variants of the same OS, you have a HUGE window of opportunity to attack, if you could just get in under the covers and exploit it…only, well, it’s pretty well screwed down from the get go.
The major exploit for their mobile devices only attacked people with Jailbroken devices, because it exposed the common root password to all of the devices via SSH…if SSH isn’t running, or they changed the password, there was no issue.
The interesting thing would be to see what exposures AirPlay brings to the fold. IF there were an exploit to Quicktime, any device on the local network could request to play a video and own the other box…but how would it expand from there? (hint:it really can’t)
So TL;DR version: **Apple may be safe because there’s not as many of them, but it’s not the ONLY reason it’s safer. **
i’ve avoided ad blockers as, well, that way it doesn’t cost me anything to support sites i like. the increasing incidence of flash popups even on major websites however, may just change my mind.
Just set the blocker to ignore sites you wanna support.
Which, if you’ve been reading the thread, is precisely the sort of malware we’re talking about. And also why it’s silly to switch to Apple to avoid this sort of thing, since, as the cite I posted upthread shows, it’s a growing problem for Macs.
I use Ad Block plus and it’s very simple - just click the dropdown menu and select “Disable on www.whatever.com”.
I’ve started using an ad blocker because I finally got tired of loading up my favorite sites and then being unable to even scroll down the damned page because the whole thing hangs while it waits and waits and waits for ads.doubleclick.com (or whatever ad server) to connect. Seriously, those ad server sites really need to buy some more bandwidth or something, so that when their clients say “hey, send me that ad”, they send the damn ad.
Whelp, there’s gotta be a certain level of intelligence to use the internet.
I propose we release a platform independent popup that says “Your computer is infected, please hit it with a hammer and throw it away.”
Point being: As long as the end user can RUN an application, the end user can INFECT their computer, as least as long as they’re logged in, and the badguys will ATTEMPT to infect them as long as they can suss out what OS the device is running.
Yes. Which is why, way back in my first post, I said the problem was not the platform.
So, AT, in summation:
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While Macs have less malware and fewer viruses, the specific type you got is still frequent. Don’t click on anything that tells you that you are infected with viruses.
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The problem you had with the error message was with Apple-produced software.
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Apple requires updates, too. You will have to apply updates just like you did with Windows. It’s inevitable.
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Run an Adblocker (preferably Adblock Plus). Sure, unblock for sites you trust and want to support. But your default state should be to not see ads.
Mostly.
Apple requires updates, but the number of updates that require a reboot are few and far between.
And I was just remarking to the wife how much I LOVE my iPad which, if you think about it, doesn’t have an ad blocker, goes to nasty, dangerous, websites (Pr0n!), HAS A HUGE number of units (200 million, according to the 2011 WWDC keynote), and has a lead-tight user experience. (awesome battery, features, build quality, responsiveness) and is, part and parcel, the same OS as is sold on their full-bore computers.