[Ti] Re: i386 viruses

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On Nov 25, 2005, at 8:57 PM, Mikael Byström wrote:

> Generally I agree with the idea that it is probably harder to write  
> viruses for OS X.

Not "probably" at all.

> But is really ease the reason virii is ramping in the windowsworld  
> one may ask.

I think what you're saying/asking is "Is ease the reason why there  
are so many viruses in the Windows world?"

The answer: yes!

It is easy to do, because the OS is inherently insecure with some  
security added on later.  Look at the recent Sony rootkit fiasco  
(*).  The OS allowed for a program to be installed which completely  
undermined the security of the operating system.

NOTE: **** anti virus and anti spyware programs did NOTHING to  
protect against this security flaw.
' **** (Remember that next time you hear someone say "I use anti- 
virus on Mac because I want to be protected when the first virus/ 
spyware comes along")

Realize that just because Sony succumbed to the pressure of bad PR  
does NOTHING to prevent anyone ELSE from doing THE EXACT SAME THING  
again.  Every time you install a program in Windows, it may install a  
rootkit.  Any program (**).  In Mac OS X you would at least have to  
enter your administrator password.

The first "spyware" / "malware" program for OS X will come in a  
program where people blindly type in their administrator password.   
There is NO DEFENSE for this kind of stupidity.  If you download a  
program from an untrusted source and then blindly type in your  
password when asked, you will be at risk.  No anti-spyware program  
would help you.

I presume everyone has read this, if not it is HIGHLY recommended:

http://daringfireball.net/2004/06/broken_windows

As usual, he does a good job in summarizing the fallacy behind the  
idea that "If OS X has more users, they'd have more viruses/spyware."

Outlook Express (the free mail program bundled with Windows) is so  
poorly designed it ought to be renamed a Virus Distribution  
Application, at which point it would simply have to be considered the  
most successful application ever coded.  Many people refer to it as  
"LookOut!" which I think it a much more apt name :-)

  From a security standpoint, the programmers who coded it ought to  
be sued for malpractice (and Microsoft for distributing it).

TjL

(*) if you've managed to somehow miss the Sony Rootkit fiasco:

http://www.google.com/search?q=sony+rootkit

http://news.google.com/news?q=sony%20rootkit&sa=N&tab=wn

(**) There are very few programs in Windows which are just an .exe  
which can be run by itself.  Unlike Mac OS X which, for the most  
part, just says "Drag this to your /Applications folder" almost ALL  
Windows programs come with an installer.  Windows XP does have the  
idea of an "Administrator" but it's so impossible to actually do  
anything with a non-Administrator account, I don't know anyone who  
does it, and the default account which is created (the only one which  
will be used by the vast majority of people) is an administrator  
account.