There are viruses known that affect Classic, and can likely operate in OS X's classic mode to wreck havoc on a box. Also, it is not a known fact that there are no OS X viri, it is only known that we're not AWARE of any, BIG difference.
Yeah, about two of them, and they're so rare as to be non-existant. Not many people I know even run classic anymore, anyway.
Current count as of 2000 was 40, according to: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/computer-virus/macintosh-faq/
I agree, AV/Spyware companies do not have our best interests at heart, need I point out Mcaffe coming up with new viri just to generate sales... but as the Mac platform grows, and is in moron's hands longer, you will start to see threats identified targeting it. There are worms/trojans/rootkits launched effectively against all other *nix platforms, its only a matter of time.
Until someone shows me a *verifiable* threat. I'm not going to worry. I've never run AV software on a Mac, and don't intend to anytime in the near future. I'm not worried, either.
Opener, a fun shell script that does quite an effective job rooting a box for external use. All one needs to do is execute it with root priviledges. Aha you say, you have to be stupid and run it as root, not to mention download it in the first place! As you snicker, I just point at all sorts of downloadable software that prompts for root to install. Its not much effort to throw an extra payload in, or just make a bogus version that looks like the app in question, but only executes the root kit. You can secure the os all you want, social engineering is still the most effective method of cracking security. Now, the fun part is waiting for someone to do what I've describe. There already were hacks using against the finder operating in a similar mannor in the wild, benign in payload but functional none the less.
While we're on the subject...
http://www.cunap.com/~hardingr/projects/osx/exploit.html <- Spoofing Apple's update server to deliver fun payloads
http://news.com.com/OS+X+flaw+may+leave+Macs+open+to+virus+attacks/2100-1002_3-5189335.html <- finder flaw mentioned above
In both cases, fixes were issued quickly after public disclosure of the hole. My compliments to Apple. In both cases the holes existed though. So far noone's exploited them thats been documented before a fix closed the hole, how long will that record last?
Joshua Coombs
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