Community weekly poll: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus?
- 11/18/05 4:17 PM
(NT) No, because I use a Mac.
by chaos555 - 11/25/05 4:11 PM In reply to: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Protection Software
by Fred_Riedel - 11/25/05 4:26 PM In reply to: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
It does not seem like many viruses affect the Mac. On my Dell, I use anti-virus software that so far has caught all possible problems.
Never in all the years
by abobble2 - 11/25/05 6:46 PM In reply to: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Never in all the years since 1992. I have never ran a anti virus protector until recently. A windows upgrade from microsoft recomended that i install one before i downloaded an upgrade from microsoft. To which they also listed several anti virus software companies with no advice as to which one to install. I chose the CA program since is was a freeware and not a shareware. An that has only been about three months ago. I have never gotten a virus and i download all the time from the internet.
But i am careful about email that i open. If i don't know them i do not open any email, an believe me i recieve more than my share of junk mail.
Thanks for letting me put my nickles in.
Have a happy sunny day
Abobble
Virus infection
by apallot - 11/25/05 7:55 PM In reply to: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Have been infected a number of times. I use VET by Computer Associates and it has always cured things
Only Once
by Michael00360 - 11/25/05 8:14 PM In reply to: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
This infection was many years ago (after prehistoric times) and I can't even remember the name of it. But what I do remember is that it did not cause any damage, nor did it stay very long. To keep from being reinfected, I basically control what is downloaded, installed, and viewed on the computers (I am the one who keeps them running). Anyone who wants to download a file must first tell me about it so I can check it out. Then I will download it for them and check the file out itself before installing it for them. (I am the law with my computers). Anyone found violating my rules can and will be locked out of thier account! No if, ands, or butts about it.
Has your computer ever been infected by a virus?
by Supernerd - 11/25/05 9:03 PM In reply to: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Yes! I got walloped by the Blaster worm, within 3 minutes of installing XP. Didn't even have time to set up my antivirus before the worm dove in. My antivirus software couldn't get rid of it. Even programmes designed to obliterate it didn't work.
Soooooo... I dove into DOS and deleted the sod within 2 minutes. So much for virus obliterating software! Thank God for the power of DOS! That's one strong programme there. 
Viruses
by Dan Nelson - 11/25/05 10:08 PM In reply to: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
My computer never has had a virus, because I get NAV updated and scanned weekly and because I use tight controls on it.
Never
by bangitsmom - 11/25/05 10:17 PM In reply to: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've been one of the lucky few (that I know of) who hasn't been infected. Being careful is a big plus. I keep my virus protection updated and always have email protection on. Plus, I never open an attachment from certain people who always seem to have computer issues. For the longest time I used McAfee and was always safe. Now I'm using Zone Alarm Security Suite and haven't had any infections.
Many Viruses...
by Corrupt_Data - 11/26/05 2:22 AM In reply to: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Even with an excellent virus scanner, simply using your computer exposes it to viruses. Having used a computer on a broadband connection for years, it statistically makes sense that my computer has been infected with many viruses.
Multi-layered protection
by ironyears - 11/26/05 9:53 AM In reply to: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I am fortunate that I am able to have multiple layered protection from viruses, spyware, and spam, as well as all the other little nasties out there. I have a 5-layered approach; firstly, the anti-ware on the broadband system I use, then AOL's anti-ware, and I have 3 other layers on my own puter; Microsoft's spyware, Norton Antivirus and Internet Security, and an intermittent use of McAfee Antivirus progs, as well as a couple of DLed ones from AOL DL Center. Have not had ANY infections since I initiated this layered approach on my newest puter when I first got it.
Only once over a year ago
by cwroblew - 11/26/05 10:04 AM In reply to: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
It was one that you got infected by clicking on a link. This kind of infection hadn't been published so I fell for a fake message about my ISP.
And Zone Alarm caught it. And my disk started thrashing.
I don't have a virus scanner. I did have McAfee, but it is so cpu intensive I disabled it.
virus
by pwood246 - 11/26/05 2:09 PM In reply to: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
my hard drive got to where it would not open and when it did it would shut right down i had to have the hard drive cleaned and then had to install everything over
been infected by a virus?
by bimmerpilot - 11/26/05 8:09 PM In reply to: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
2 or 3 times before I installed a firewall. Once from a floppy disk that a customer sent me; since then, I always scan any media with my anti-virus program before using. I haven't been infected for 3 or more years. I have a hardware firewall in my network router, a software firewall (ZoneAlarm Pro) and Frist F-Prot anti-virus; all updated automatically.
Look mac no viruses. Mac not Toys. Some words for fatalists.
by mhadi2k2 - 11/26/05 10:59 PM In reply to: Has your computer ever been infected by a virus? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
To the fatalists here who believe that everthing can and will have a virus, so therefore macs are not exceptions , let me repeat that Mac OSX does not have one yet in 5 years it has been out. It's Unix under the beutiful graphical interface, and it has been designed by paranoid minds as far as security goes.
Seeing some of the posts here makes me think of the fountain pen days... someone saying "every pen WILL leak, so your fancy microtip or ballpoint WILL too, and i dont even want to TRY it or discuss it any further because it has INK flows so OBVIOUSLY it HAS to leak and WILL leak the moment you start writing."
I have used comps extensively since the DOS 6.0 fifteen years back through Win3.x,95,98,me (eminently forgettable this one), 2000, and xp, solaris, a little mac os 8.6 in between and now mac osx. There is very little that i cannot do on a mac that i need win for, and there is a whole lot of stuff i can do on a mac that i cant do on win. I currently use solaris, win 2k professional and mac os x at work and mac osx on my laptop. The decision to go for a mac laptop (powerbook) was made just 1.5 months after first using mac osx 1 year back...once you go mac, you never go back. Macs are NOT TOYS, though kids and ignoramuses can use very satisfyingly them as such. We use a lot of macs for serious number crunching along with any number of sun workstations at one of the worlds largest research facilities.
Remember that pre OSX mac versions(os 9 and below) have had viruses, but osx is a totally different os that was completely rewritten with a unix core and not backward compatible with os9 (you will have to start os9 virtually in a window within osx to use any os9 apps), and since that change to osx hapened in 2000, no viruses afecting mac osx....none at all. Please be informed (and substantially more than hearsay) when you post.
A small caveat...microsoft office macro viruses can work on the mac side too, but will only affect office documents. but this is a fault of microsoft office rather than mac osx, so just go easy on the macros as always if you are not sure what the are supposed to do.
Rather than bashing mac users because they are smug (and rightly so, which usually hurts even more), push microsoft to improve things on the security front. there is no excuse to let windows leak like a sieve and make users accept things ''coz that's how all computers are'' coz mac has shown that is not true and you can make an OS that will be virus free for 5 years and counting.
me neither (mac OS X)
by russ666 - 11/28/05 1:43 AM In reply to: Look mac no viruses. Mac not Toys. Some words for fatalists. by mhadi2k25 years and counting, When i had OS 9 i had virex and it kept me free and clear. But, now with OS X i have wasted many silly/happy hours looking in vain for antivirus software to buy or sample on the .www for my mac, for just in case. My impression: if you don't use windows software on your mac and your native firewall is turned on you are close to bullet proof. BUT i have forwarded virii unintentionally to PC users which i received in innocent looking email from other PC users. i would rather not do that. Which is why i continue to look. i did download 2 adware thingies when i tried out a freebie download once but got rid of them with ClamXV. Since then i use another freebie: Checkmate which is a checksum software to prevent that happening again. So far this has been 100% effective. Insofar as being careful about opening attachments i don't have to do that. Without a windows emulator the mac can't open an .exe so i am in Alfred E Neuman territory.
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