web browser viruses???

RONJON · May 15, 2009

A guy told me at work that most viruses come from internet explorer and that I should use a different browser??? ...well which is a better one and how do i switch to it?

...also this guys tells me you seldom get viruses with a mac as opposed to a PC. Is this true..and if so why?

RJ

gelatine · May 15, 2009

IE has a controlling market share and uses components such as ActiveX which help make it easier to gain significant control over a PC through the browser. High visibility and high susceptibility = high chance of being targeted for attacks.

Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, or Opera are all viable cross-platform browsers with a generally better track record for security. They also offer security through obscurity, which is to say that a browser that no one else uses is effectively 100% secure from attacks.

Similarly, PCs are more frequently targeted both because of their high market share and increased vulnerability.

awelch · May 16, 2009

gelatine said:
IE has a controlling market share and uses components such as ActiveX which help make it easier to gain significant control over a PC through the browser. High visibility and high susceptibility = high chance of being targeted for attacks.

Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, or Opera are all viable cross-platform browsers with a generally better track record for security. They also offer security through obscurity, which is to say that a browser that no one else uses is effectively 100% secure from attacks.

Similarly, PCs are more frequently targeted both because of their high market share and increased vulnerability.

bump.. try Firefox
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/

Yeah there's very few viruses for mac, but that's not to say you can't stay completely virus free on a PC if you have enough sense. Try NOD32 Smart Security if you're having issues.

As far as why this here's a quick explanation I copied.. much easier than typing it myself

The mac *can* get viruses, but in practice it doesn't. The reason for this is two-fold. The first reason is that Macintosh computers are hardly targeted for viruses compared to PCs. After all, what's the use in writing a virus on the mac, since it will only affect 5-10% of the computer world. The second (and more reassuring) reason Mac's are more virus secure is because of the UNIX underpinnings that make up OSX.

In windows, the normal user account is set up as an administrator in most cases. This is good for the user in that they have free reign of their computer to do what they want without being prompted for a password. The downside is viruses that get into their systems also have the same free reign to install themselves and start trouble without the system questioning them. On a mac however, even when you are logged in on an administrator account, the computer is allowed far fewer privileges, meaning any software that tries to install itself or modify your system must first receive your password. Meaning, nothing gets installed or modified unless you allow it. You can experience this simply by downloading a widget in safari. Before the widget installs itself, your computer prompts you that you've downloaded a piece of software that is trying to install itself, and asks your permission to proceed.

norbit09 · May 17, 2009

I use Firefox.

RONJON · May 19, 2009

awelch said:
bump.. try Firefox
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/

Yeah there's very few viruses for mac, but that's not to say you can't stay completely virus free on a PC if you have enough sense. Try NOD32 Smart Security if you're having issues.

As far as why this here's a quick explanation I copied.. much easier than typing it myself

The mac *can* get viruses, but in practice it doesn't. The reason for this is two-fold. The first reason is that Macintosh computers are hardly targeted for viruses compared to PCs. After all, what's the use in writing a virus on the mac, since it will only affect 5-10% of the computer world. The second (and more reassuring) reason Mac's are more virus secure is because of the UNIX underpinnings that make up OSX.

In windows, the normal user account is set up as an administrator in most cases. This is good for the user in that they have free reign of their computer to do what they want without being prompted for a password. The downside is viruses that get into their systems also have the same free reign to install themselves and start trouble without the system questioning them. On a mac however, even when you are logged in on an administrator account, the computer is allowed far fewer privileges, meaning any software that tries to install itself or modify your system must first receive your password. Meaning, nothing gets installed or modified unless you allow it. You can experience this simply by downloading a widget in safari. Before the widget installs itself, your computer prompts you that you've downloaded a piece of software that is trying to install itself, and asks your permission to proceed.

Wow thanks alot I really needed this. Im trying to really "get it" as to why pc or mac is superior and all the pros and cons of each before I buy one

Thanks alot man