There's a huge trojan in my comp and i have a plan. will it work?

[DracoSuave]

Here's the problem with people saying 'buy a mac, no more viruses.'

The ONLY reason macs don't get viruses often is because no one cares about macs. If enough people buy macs, people who write viruses will write viruses for macs. Then, macs will get viruses.

If the virus issue is the reason you own a mac... telling others to get them will only increase the chance your reason will go away.

And one day... it will go away.

 

[RicoADF]

Depends how long the virus is in there. It is possible that the files you transfer to your newly erased hard drive could contain a duplicate of the virus, so I would recommend scanning those under quarantine just to be sure. Or better yet, buy a mac.

Scanning the files before moving them is a good idea. Spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a Mac doesn't solve the issue and isn't really a good idea in this situation, despite being a nice, cheeky little dig at PCs.

It actually seems like a perfectly reasonable solution, except for the cost of buying a new computer VS fixing the one infected with windows. Theres always ubuntu I suppose.

Well, perhaps if his concern was in preventing future infections, but that could be solved with decent antivirus and antimalware, a few of which are both free and reliable. His current concern is really just getting his current computer operational again, which can be done cheaply and with varying degrees of ease. If he switched to a Mac, it would cost tons of money and wouldn't solve the issue of his infected computer. Plus, some of the files he wants to save may be Windows executable files or other documents he can't use on a Mac, so that is also a concern. Hell, buying a new PC and moving the files to that could be cheaper than buying a Mac, depending on the quality of the PC and the Mac being considered.

Here is the thing with antivirus. As reliable as I'm sure it is, it is always going to ask you if you want to do anything you want to do. I don't use google chrome anymore because it was always saying "files like this could cause harm to your computer". Really, google? Is it that hard to tell the mac version not to worry about viruses? Moving to a mac would solve the problem of his infected computer, because he could move the potentially infected files to the mac, and never have to worry about them. If he had bought a mac in the first place, we wouldn't be having this discussion, would we?

Mac's get viruses too, might not be as common but they get them and unlike Windows they have few defences due to that overconfidence. And that only counts for viruses, they do get trajans, malware etc.

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000737.htm

http://gigaom.com/apple/more-mac-viruses-similar-sources-time-to-worry/

http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2011/05/11/time-for-mac-users-to-think-about-viruses/

Just a few example articles.

 

[brainslurper]

Depends how long the virus is in there. It is possible that the files you transfer to your newly erased hard drive could contain a duplicate of the virus, so I would recommend scanning those under quarantine just to be sure. Or better yet, buy a mac.

Scanning the files before moving them is a good idea. Spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a Mac doesn't solve the issue and isn't really a good idea in this situation, despite being a nice, cheeky little dig at PCs.

It actually seems like a perfectly reasonable solution, except for the cost of buying a new computer VS fixing the one infected with windows. Theres always ubuntu I suppose.

Well, perhaps if his concern was in preventing future infections, but that could be solved with decent antivirus and antimalware, a few of which are both free and reliable. His current concern is really just getting his current computer operational again, which can be done cheaply and with varying degrees of ease. If he switched to a Mac, it would cost tons of money and wouldn't solve the issue of his infected computer. Plus, some of the files he wants to save may be Windows executable files or other documents he can't use on a Mac, so that is also a concern. Hell, buying a new PC and moving the files to that could be cheaper than buying a Mac, depending on the quality of the PC and the Mac being considered.

Here is the thing with antivirus. As reliable as I'm sure it is, it is always going to ask you if you want to do anything you want to do. I don't use google chrome anymore because it was always saying "files like this could cause harm to your computer". Really, google? Is it that hard to tell the mac version not to worry about viruses? Moving to a mac would solve the problem of his infected computer, because he could move the potentially infected files to the mac, and never have to worry about them. If he had bought a mac in the first place, we wouldn't be having this discussion, would we?

Mac's get viruses too, might not be as common but they get them and unlike Windows they have few defences due to that overconfidence. And that only counts for viruses, they do get trajans, malware etc.

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000737.htm

http://gigaom.com/apple/more-mac-viruses-similar-sources-time-to-worry/

http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2011/05/11/time-for-mac-users-to-think-about-viruses/

Just a few example articles.

First article says the chance of getting a virus on a mac are little to none (Which is untrue) and articles two and three cite trojans as examples of mac viruses. I don't think there has been a fully functional mac virus since Mac OS 9 (Apple equivalent of windows 95/98). Nice try, though.

 

[RicoADF]

First article says the chance of getting a virus on a mac are little to none (Which is untrue) and articles two and three cite trojans as examples of mac viruses. I don't think there has been a fully functional mac virus since Mac OS 9 (Apple equivalent of windows 95/98). Nice try, though.

Unfortuently where I read about mac viruses in recent times was in an IT mag I'm subscribed to, cant exactly link to that

 

[tthor]

for a second there, I thought this was about a condom.. ._.

 

[Waaghpowa]

If he had bought a mac in the first place, we wouldn't be having this discussion, would we?

Some people don't like to pay one thousand dollars for a five hundred dollar computer.

Some people don't like to get viruses. Also, show me where you can get a $500 computer that can compete with a $1000 macbook air.

Compete how? Performance? More powerful computers can be purchased for half your macbooks cost. My Galaxy S2 (A CELL PHONE) has a dual 1.2 core cpu and 1 gig of ram versus a macbook air which has a dual 1.6 and 2 gigs or ram.
The fact that it's thin? Asus Zenbooks are roughly the same price with more power and longer battery life. Zenbooks are also listed at $999 with more ram and a larger solid state drive than the cheapest Air.

Getting rid of your computer and buying a new one is not a solution, it's ignoring the problem and being lazy, not to mention wasteful. Maybe that's a common practice for mac users, but practical people aren't willing to throw away that kind of money.

It's not hard to avoid viruses if you're not completely incompetent. I haven't had a virus on any computer since the late 90's. All you need to do is avoid going to shady sites and downloading from things you don't know/trust.

Also, what he said:

Here's the problem with people saying 'buy a mac, no more viruses.'

The ONLY reason macs don't get viruses often is because no one cares about macs. If enough people buy macs, people who write viruses will write viruses for macs. Then, macs will get viruses.

If the virus issue is the reason you own a mac... telling others to get them will only increase the chance your reason will go away.

And one day... it will go away.

Although I would've added the low market share contributing to peoples lack of caring.

 

[Waaghpowa]

I suggest you take your computer, take a metal cutter, and some nails. Now recut that beast into a horse shape. Put you HD in side of it, give him some spears, and wait till night. When the gates open, the trojan will bring it in, then your HD can jump out and start stabbing that sucker.

This is win.

 

[Vrach]

Snip

Yeah, for the average computer user some common sense will prevent most viruses. For professional use, where there are hundreds of incoming connections to my computer, which runs 24/7, I just can't risk the downtime a virus would provide, even if I can get my data back.

I'm sorry, I seem to have somehow insinuated my computer powers down once in a while or spends some time off the internet. Sorry about that.

 

[DracoSuave]

I don't think there has been a fully functional mac virus since Mac OS 9 (Apple equivalent of windows 95/98). Nice try, though.

I'll trust Symantec [http://searchg.symantec.com/search?q=mac&x=0&y=0&charset=utf-8&nh=10&hitsceil=100&st=1&proxystylesheet=symc_en_US&client=symc_en_US&site=symc_en_US_vir&output=xml_no_dtd&context=ent] over some unsubstantiated post on the internet.

 

[brainslurper]

If he had bought a mac in the first place, we wouldn't be having this discussion, would we?

Some people don't like to pay one thousand dollars for a five hundred dollar computer.

Some people don't like to get viruses. Also, show me where you can get a $500 computer that can compete with a $1000 macbook air.

Compete how? Performance? More powerful computers can be purchased for half your macbooks cost. My Galaxy S2 (A CELL PHONE) has a dual 1.2 core cpu and 1 gig of ram versus a macbook air which has a dual 1.6 and 2 gigs or ram.
The fact that it's thin? Asus Zenbooks are roughly the same price with more power and longer battery life. Zenbooks are also listed at $999 with more ram and a larger solid state drive than the cheapest Air.

Getting rid of your computer and buying a new one is not a solution, it's ignoring the problem and being lazy, not to mention wasteful. Maybe that's a common practice for mac users, but practical people aren't willing to throw away that kind of money.

It's not hard to avoid viruses if you're not completely incompetent. I haven't had a virus on any computer since the late 90's. All you need to do is avoid going to shady sites and downloading from things you don't know/trust.

Also, what he said:

Here's the problem with people saying 'buy a mac, no more viruses.'

The ONLY reason macs don't get viruses often is because no one cares about macs. If enough people buy macs, people who write viruses will write viruses for macs. Then, macs will get viruses.

If the virus issue is the reason you own a mac... telling others to get them will only increase the chance your reason will go away.

And one day... it will go away.

Although I would've added the low market share contributing to peoples lack of caring.

It's certainly not a common practice for mac users, because I have never had a mac fail. Ever. The computer you listed is $1099, and even if it was $999 you would have disproved your point entirely. And thats forgetting the cost of upgrading windows (Think $700+ a year for windows and $30 for OS X) and the cost of antivirus. A 11% market share would explain why 11% of viruses are for OS X, but it wouldn't explain why 0% of viruses are for OS X. Guess what I can do? I can go to whatever site I want, download whatever the fuck I want, and run it. That is something windows users, no matter how much money they pay for their anti virus, will never be able to say.

 

[brainslurper]

I don't think there has been a fully functional mac virus since Mac OS 9 (Apple equivalent of windows 95/98). Nice try, though.

I'll trust Symantec [http://searchg.symantec.com/search?q=mac&x=0&y=0&charset=utf-8&nh=10&hitsceil=100&st=1&proxystylesheet=symc_en_US&client=symc_en_US&site=symc_en_US_vir&output=xml_no_dtd&context=ent] over some unsubstantiated post on the internet.

I'm not sure what point a symantec search for "mac" is trying to convey, but it certainly isn't helping your argument.

 

[DracoSuave]

I don't think there has been a fully functional mac virus since Mac OS 9 (Apple equivalent of windows 95/98). Nice try, though.

I'll trust Symantec [http://searchg.symantec.com/search?q=mac&x=0&y=0&charset=utf-8&nh=10&hitsceil=100&st=1&proxystylesheet=symc_en_US&client=symc_en_US&site=symc_en_US_vir&output=xml_no_dtd&context=ent] over some unsubstantiated post on the internet.

I'm not sure what point a symantec search for "mac" is trying to convey, but it certainly isn't helping your argument.

Most of the pages in that search result are OSX viruses and/or vulnerabilities....

The argument then becomes a tautology.

There exist viral definitions for OSX. Therefore, there are Viruses on OSX. Pretty simple argument.

Your argument:

There are no viruses for OSX.

....waiting for the rest of your argument.

 

[brainslurper]

I don't think there has been a fully functional mac virus since Mac OS 9 (Apple equivalent of windows 95/98). Nice try, though.

I'll trust Symantec [http://searchg.symantec.com/search?q=mac&x=0&y=0&charset=utf-8&nh=10&hitsceil=100&st=1&proxystylesheet=symc_en_US&client=symc_en_US&site=symc_en_US_vir&output=xml_no_dtd&context=ent] over some unsubstantiated post on the internet.

I'm not sure what point a symantec search for "mac" is trying to convey, but it certainly isn't helping your argument.

Most of the pages in that search result are OSX viruses....

The argument then becomes a tautology.

Re-read. Most of the results have to do with your MAC address. Others are trojans. Call me when you have a credible virus for OS X 10.6+

 

[DracoSuave]

I don't think there has been a fully functional mac virus since Mac OS 9 (Apple equivalent of windows 95/98). Nice try, though.

I'll trust Symantec [http://searchg.symantec.com/search?q=mac&x=0&y=0&charset=utf-8&nh=10&hitsceil=100&st=1&proxystylesheet=symc_en_US&client=symc_en_US&site=symc_en_US_vir&output=xml_no_dtd&context=ent] over some unsubstantiated post on the internet.

I'm not sure what point a symantec search for "mac" is trying to convey, but it certainly isn't helping your argument.

Most of the pages in that search result are OSX viruses....

The argument then becomes a tautology.

Re-read. Most of the results have to do with your MAC address. Others are trojans. Call me when you have a credible virus for OS X 10.6+

Mac Protector trojan. That took me twelve seconds to find on google.

Anyone who thinks macs aren't safe when a google search for 'Mac Virus OSX 10.6' comes up with something as easy as that, when a Symantec search for Mac comes up with 'Security vulnerabilities' and mac.Simpsons...

You're not even trying. Your OS isn't safe. No OS is safe; the most common vehicle for intrusion in a system is social engineering, and no OS out there has solved THAT problem.

 

[MysticToast]

It's certainly not a common practice for mac users, because I have never had a mac fail. Ever. The computer you listed is $1099, and even if it was $999 you would have disproved your point entirely. And thats forgetting the cost of upgrading windows (Think $700+ a year for windows and $30 for OS X) and the cost of antivirus. A 11% market share would explain why 11% of viruses are for OS X, but it wouldn't explain why 0% of viruses are for OS X. Guess what I can do? I can go to whatever site I want, download whatever the fuck I want, and run it. That is something windows users, no matter how much money they pay for their anti virus, will never be able to say.

Who upgrades Windows every year and pays for an antivirus?

 

[Waaghpowa]

It's certainly not a common practice for mac users, because I have never had a mac fail. Ever.

And I've never had a PC running windows fail. Ever. You're confusing software with hardware. Apple computer hardware is no different from the hardware used in generic PC's. You know what makes macs different aside from the shiny case and apple logo? Operating system.

The computer you listed is $1099, and even if it was $999 you would have disproved your point entirely.

Looks like 999 to me. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1412975

And thats forgetting the cost of upgrading windows (Think $700+ a year for windows and $30 for OS X)

This is a joke right? 3 windows 7 professional licenses cost 139. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5213934 Even then, out of the box computers have an OS pre installed, you don't have to buy it after the fact unless you're building a system from scratch.

There are people who paid for Windows XP once in 2001, and are STILL using it. Windows OS is versatile enough that it doesn't require monthly upgrades (Obvious exaggeration). Steam survey says that 16.76% of steam users still have windows XP. Anyone using Windows XP can use the most recent version of iTunes, unfortunately any mac user with an older OS can't http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/may/21/apple-upgrades-itunes-version

On top of that, you get the DVD and can install it on any computer, but then again, I guess you can get the OS from Apple and install it on....oh wait.

and the cost of antivirus.

I'm with you about that, AVG free costs waaaay too much. http://free.avg.com/ca-en/homepage

A 11% market share would explain why 11% of viruses are for OS X, but it wouldn't explain why 0% of viruses are for OS X.

Don't think it works like that. 1) There isn't zero viruses for OSX as DracoSuave pointed out and 2) Percentage of total viruses isn't directly proportional to market share.

Guess what I can do? I can go to whatever site I want, download whatever the fuck I want, and run it. That is something windows users, no matter how much money they pay for their anti virus, will never be able to say.

...so can I.
Run this without installing windows or an emulator.
http://www.stealthbastard.com/

Or 90% of the steam store catalogue.

 

[Vhite]

I recommend Spartans. They will handle anything even in small amount, including Trojans.

 

[diebane]

I recommend Spartans. They will handle anything even in small amount, including Trojans.

That one had to me made. I laughed on the inside.

Good luck on your computer, ott, shouldn't be too big of a problem.

mfG diebane