Kia ora tatou:
A trip-and stumble moment.
After years of teaching IT and related skills, I tripped up over a myth, namely that Macs don’t get viruses/worms/nasties.
They do. Oh, boy, they do.
About 2 days ago, I started getting return/undeliverable messages from places I had never even heard of and websites I didn’t know existed. By yesterday the trickle had become a flood, and I was starting to get suspicious ( I am a slow learner!) Now, working on the myth that Macs don’t get this sort of stuff, I hadn’t to date installed any antivirus software ( there isn’t much for the Mac anyway). But it was fairly obvious what was happening, so I went on the Net and did some research.
In the end I found a product called ClamXav, which I duly installed . I then ran a full scan and discovered to my horror….Mytob_IV and the Sober worms….. They have since been dealt with!
I guess the point of all this is the need to be ever-vigilant, no matter what your platform. This means :
- Using good-quality antivirus software ( especially necessary for Windows users). I am told AVG and Avast are both good (and free) and don’t clog up your system; Panda and Norton, in my experience are guaranteed to put the brakes on your system. I am currently using NOD32-fast and efficient (but you have to pay for it).
- Updating the definitions at least once a week, preferably daily.
- Running a full scan of your system at least once a month.
So there you have it(or rather, there I had it). Can’t wait to get back to my Windows machine. At least it is protected (I think).
Stop sniggering, Volker.
Ka kite ano
Update:
I got back to Ranfurly yesterday and, following my experience witht the Mac, ran a full scan with NOD32 through my PC. I didn’t expect to find anything, since I have been using Panda antivirus for some 18 months now, and I scan weekly and update daily. Imagine my horror when it found 2 infected files that have been in my system for some 6 months! If you really want to know, it was the Win32/Randon.AY worm – now deleted.
Again the message- be careful and use good-quality antivirus software.
