At 9:14 PM +0100 02/17/2006, Peter Udbjørg wrote:
As mentioned by other posters, a "virus" one has
to willingly download, and then supply with
admin pw & un, is not a virus.
Right. It depends on no actual security hole --
it's simply a piece of malware that depends on a
certain amount of stupidity to occur between the
chair and keyboard. I believe the politically
correct phrase for this is "human engineering".
The success or failure of such malware on Macs
will be a testimate to the IQ of Mac users...
However, I picked this line up on "The
Registry":"OS X running on x86 means that the
skills that people have developed and a lot of
the tools people have created for finding
problems, analysing problems, and writing the
code to take advantage of them, will work," he
said. "They no longer need to learn a different
assembler or a different memory architecture."
Now tell me this is not horse manure. The new
Intel inside the MacIntels are not the old
fashioned x86 ones inside any gray Wintel-box,
right?
The Register has it right.
The x86 Macs are simply computers, just like
Wintel boxes. Right now, the only real diff in
the hardware is that the Macs use EFI and the
Wintel boxes use BIOS. If hackers can wedge BIOS
support into OS X then (+/- a few other issues)
it will run on standard wintel boxes.
AND to look at it from the virus' point of
view... x86 code is x86 code. It will run
equally well on either platform. At issue is
what can the viral code *do*. IF OS X implements
the proper memory protection schemes, then the
viral code can only screw around in the mode in
which it's running. Typically that means a
lower-privileged user mode, so damage will be
limited. Once the virus figures out what OS is
running, it can then implement appropriate system
calls to do Other Things. Bottom line:
Monolithic viral code. :(
And the OSX'es running on various wintel
x86-boxes have been more or less rude hacks.
For now.
I do not think for a million monetary untis I
could install an out-of-the-box OSX on a
(creepy) pee-cee. I would have to resort to some
sort of mumbo-jumbo, sort of like a XpostFacto
for pee-see's. And why in the name of (insert
favourite deity here) would any sensible person
do that? Not for any serious use, just to show
off.
What we want is Mac OS X.
If we can have it on without the $$$$$ hardware, ...
- Dan.
--
G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and...
Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives |
-- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! |
Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html>
G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml>
--> AOL users, remove "mailto:";
Send list messages to: <mailto:g-list@mail.maclaunch.com>
To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/>
iPod Accessories for Less
at 1-800-iPOD.COM
Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal
www.1800ipod.com
