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by coldtea 4130 days ago
>Mac OS X Isn’t Safe Anymore: The Crapware / Malware Epidemic Has Begun

Yeah, not really. Like it hadn't began all the other times in those last 14 years that such articles appeared.

I've used Windows for decades (still do ocassionally), and had lost count of malware, adware and viruses I had to battle. So, don't tell me about "malware epidemic" on OS X with a straight face...
3 comments
dublinben 4130 days ago
>adware and viruses I had to battle

This is largely a user problem now. I haven't caught a single problematic download on my Windows 7 box.

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josephlord 4130 days ago
See recent Lenovo issue. It isn't a user problem but an ecosystem problem starting with the OEMs and the general discovery and distribution of software.
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goalieca 4129 days ago
I wouldn't be so confident. Most viruses now are pretty stable and silent. They don't crash your system and they don't eat up all your bandwidth. They'll get you when you log in to your banking website or they'll use you as part of an attack on someone else.
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snowwrestler 4130 days ago
It's also a user problem on Macs--and really, it always had been. I use and like Macs but they've never been invulnerable.
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RexRollman 4130 days ago
I've noticed that people are quite liberal with the use of the word "epidemic".
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WorldWideWayne 4130 days ago
I've been using Windows for over 20 years and I've had very few (exactly 2) personal battles with malware and those were on Windows 95 and 98.

Why don't you try looking things up and scanning them before installing? Whatever you're doing doesn't seem to be working.

EDIT: A commenter below reminded me of another rule that I follow when I get a new machine: Always do a clean install with my own copy of Windows (usually from MSDN or an upgrade offer).

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coldtea 4128 days ago
>I've been using Windows for over 20 years and I've had very few (exactly 2) personal battles with malware and those were on Windows 95 and 98.

Had tons on Windows XP, and several in 7.

>Why don't you try looking things up and scanning them before installing?

Can't and won't be bothered. What am I? The OS's servant?

I'd rather have an OS that doesn't get me viruses, either through enhanced security and sandboxes, or through scarcity of malware.

Plus, it's not even about "scanning" etc. Lots of adware for example comes in totally legitimate forms. Heck, even the base Windows install from some OEMs has ad- and spy-ware installed...

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WorldWideWayne 4128 days ago
That's some interesting logic. Do you bother looking both ways before crossing a street or does that make you a servant to the highway system/common sense?

> I'd rather have an OS that doesn't get me viruses...

No problem. The OS isn't the one getting you viruses. It's you.

> Plus, it's not even about "scanning"...

Yes, that's why I said to do a quick search on the Internet, to see what other people are saying about a given piece of software. If you can't be bothered to do that, then you deserve every piece of malware that you get.

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coldtea 4127 days ago
>That's some interesting logic. Do you bother looking both ways before crossing a street or does that make you a servant to the highway system/common sense?

Walking wasn't created to automate tedious tasks. Computers were.

Your "common sense" is of those who accepted as a law of nature that you have to defragment your hard disk, clean your registry every now and then, and re-install your OS when it gets bogged down to get a clean start.

Some other stuff that was also "prevalent wisdom" among Windows folks...

>Yes, that's why I said to do a quick search on the Internet, to see what other people are saying about a given piece of software. If you can't be bothered to do that, then you deserve every piece of malware that you get.

Or you know, use a proper sanboxed OS and matching software, like it's 2015...

It's not like permissions, sandboxes, chroot jails and containment is some hot-new fringe research topic...

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WorldWideWayne 4126 days ago
The OS you want doesn't exist. If you think it does, I welcome you to please just go and use it or invent one yourself instead of wasting your time trying to convince little old me.

TempleOS is probably a good fit for someone like you. Enjoy that!

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cmurf 4130 days ago
Agreed. I found these insightful.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-reset-re...

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/02/save-yourself-from-yo...

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