Thread: Macs have a virus!

Originally Posted by slash112

why are a couple of you saying macs dont get viruses. how exactly can a machine which runs programs not get a virus. all a virus is is a program really

no,
a computer virus is a collection of low-level instructions that, once loaded into memory, copies itself (or a variation of itself) to other programs in memory

It is not a fully functional program
it needs to attach itself to actual programs, in order for the instructions to execute

It mimics (worryingly closely) a biological virus
unable to function independently without invading a "host" program

The term "virus" has been incorrectly used (by non-tech people) to refer to any harmful program
this is wrong

Mac OS, Linux (and other *nixes) are, for all intents and purposes, immune to viruses
their security model prevents the copying of the viral code into other memory-resident programs
Viruses are a Windows-only problem

As for other programs....
as I said

Originally Posted by Ynot

anyone can write a destructive program, call it "cracked version of some-other-program" and trick a user into running it

this is not computer security
it's social engineering