Some people make the assumption that Macs can’t get malware, that it’s somehow a Windows-only problem. Unfortunately that’s not the case, any computer can get malware such as viruses and trojans (read here for some examples). And there are some companies that already make antivirus software for Macs. Further evidence of the need for antivirus … Continue reading Mac OS X Now Comes with Antivirus
Apple has released a major update to Mac OS X. If you use a Mac you should first make a good backup of your computer then apply this update. It patches over 40 security vulnerabilities (don’t let anyone tell you Macs are completely safe and invulnerable). The latest version is 10.5.3.
Facebook are stepping things up a notch and getting tough on malware, in a good way. Their latest initiative can detect malware on your computer. If anything suspicious is found, your Facebook account is temporarily locked (to prevent the malware sending spam using your account), and you’ll be asked to download an anti-virus program called … Continue reading Facebook Gets Tough On Malware
Some people know what a cookie is, what it’s good for and how it can be abused. If you don’t here’s a very short summary: Cookies are codes that web sites save to your computer They’re used to help web sites remember who you are. E.g. when you log onto eBay and come back the … Continue reading Flash Cookies
We all know that malware can steal your passwords, cause you to lose money, and spread itself to other PCs. But can malware actually cause damage to your PC? The short answer is yes. A botnet is a collection of infected PCs under a hacker’s control. There are millions of PCs today forming these botnets … Continue reading Can Malware Damage Your PC?
Another Mac trojan. There’s a program for Macs called MacCinema Installer. The filename is: Flash.Player.Update.v9.19.dmg. Some web sites claim that you need to install it to watch their videos. When you install it, it adds something to your Mac so that every 5 hours it will try to download malware. So if your Mac becomes … Continue reading MacCinema
There is a competition where people try to hack web browsers (they call it Pwn2own) , the winners get thousands of dollars in cash and prizes. Below are the results of the competition. It says a lot about which web browsers are safer than others: Safari running on Mac OS X – hacked in 10 … Continue reading Browser Hacking Competition Results
TrueCrypt is an encryption program we wrote about earlier. It lets you do things like "whole disk encryption" (good for people who carry around laptops full of confidential files), and other encryption functions. Version 6.0 came out a few days ago. It’s open source, meaning everyone is free to review the source code. It’s available … Continue reading TrueCrypt 6.0