[DM-MUG] Security question

[Ray Bowler]

I agree that it really is not necessary for the Mac. Still you can 
pass one to your Windoze friends so I have Intego Virus Barrier 
because it detects Windoze viruses and can clean them up. It also 
does not intrude except once a month when it alerts you to updates 
for the detection file.

At 9:15 AM -0800 1/31/07, Darcy Baston wrote:
>For me, security risk is measured by a few probabilities:
>
>1-How many virii exist?
>2-How likely am I to come across them?
>3-How likely am I to complete the necessary steps to infect myself 
>when I do come across them?
>
>For me:
>
>1-I don't know of a single virus that exists for OS X.
>
>2-I am very unlikely to come across them because probability has it 
>that a low number makes it hard for them to find me and vice versa. 
>Plus, I don't download anything shady, don't forward messages with 
>attachments, don't open attachments etc.
>
>3-OS X is secure in that you can't do anything overly damaging 
>(which includes making a virus resident or stored on disk) without 
>going through confirmation dialogs that give a clue as to something 
>of depth occurring. Since I take the time to read every dialog box 
>that ever appears on my screen, I am very unlikely to type in my 
>administrative password without knowing why.
>
>So in my situation, I don't feel I need antivirus software (yet) on my Mac.
>
>I've had behavioral responsibility as my antivirus. I've used 
>computers since the early 80s, and to date, after I include all my 
>x86 PCs, Amigas and Macs, have absolutely NEVER had a virus on my 
>computer. I've cleaned and dealt with tons of viruses on other 
>computers though, even the ones where I had to reset the battery on 
>a PC to get a virus out of its BIOS.
>
>I'm not a typical user though. For anyone else I recommend getting 
>an antivirus software package that offers the most frequent updates, 
>consumes the least resources, is not made by Symantec, and is only 
>ever meant for machines that aren't in production for resource 
>hungry settings like music production. I'd recommend people 
>disconnect their audio production machine from the internet entirely 
>if possible. :)
>
>As far as internet invasion goes, you have to invest time and effort 
>into this no matter what platform you're on. An open port on an IP 
>address is an open port and asking for trouble. I'd recommend:
>
>-Make sure your user account's password on your computer has some 
>degree of complexity like mixing lower/upper case letters and 
>special characters. Don't store that information in a file on your 
>computer or anyone else's.
>
>-Have your net connection go into a router that has its own firewall 
>and then into your computer with the OS X firewall turned on too. 
>Make sure the router is password protected, cannot have its admin 
>tools accessed from the internet. Set a long hard password too!
>
>-Figure out what your IP address is, and port scan it from a 
>different computer outside your internal network.
>
>-If you have wireless internet broadcasting in your home, make sure 
>the broadcasting router has the MAC filter turned on, is not making 
>the ESSID public and is WEP 128bit protected (or better).
>
>-Any time you can do media sharing with iTunes, iPhoto, files etc., 
>make sure it's always password protected.
>
>-Never set your computer to log in automatically on reboot and set 
>the "wake from sleep" to be password protected too. Make your 
>computers inconvenient to access if stolen.
>
>-If you share files and media only occasionally, leave sharing 
>services off until you need them.
>
>-Turn off Airport on your laptop when not in use.
>
>-Any time you need to store financial information on your computer, 
>put it in an encrypted disk image that you only mount when you need 
>it, and never store the password to it in your keychain.
>
>Anyway, just some of the things I do to keep a clean record of 
>non-infection/invasion. :)
>
>Darcy
>
>
>
>
>On Wednesday, January 31, 2007, at 10:26AM, "Roses Derise" 
><homeonthefarm at iowatelecom.net> wrote:
>>Dear Friends,
>>
>>I am so glad that DW told me about this group. I wish I'd known about you
>  >sooner!
>>
>>Here's a new question: Its commonly said that Mac is safe from virus and
>>other internet invasion, but I don't feel fully confident about that. What's
>>the consensus at DMMUG? If the answer is no, then what kind of protection is
>>best?
>>
>>Thanks again,
>>Roses
>>
>>
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-- 
Ray Bowler

rbowler.home.mchsi.com