Any IT Guys- Virus Question

[Guest]

Last night i cleaned my Macbook Pro and reformatted it for no other reason but for a clean sweeping. It was a year old and just did it.

So tonight i got on Facebook and got a Chat from this girl i went to HS with. I thought something was up because I haven't talked to her in years. So i ended up responding to her 2 questions cause i thought they had something to do with our HS reunion this weekend. Nothing was said back until i said what you want, and she responded that her computer had a virus or something on it. All i did with her was chat and did not click on any links or anything. After she told me that we talked for a couple minutes. She told me the thing was sending out links to people and what not.

I feel my computer running a little slow now, but like I said I didnt click on anything so it might just be me overthinking about the situation. And I'm pretty sure that I've heard before that MacBook can not get Viruses.

Should I be worried or do anything

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Any IT Guys- Virus Question

Ummm it is a myth that Macs can't get viruses. They can.....It really depends on what kind of virus she had. Some viruses can spread just from chatting through MSN or yahoo messenger.

To be safe I would just scan it anyway.

[Cabke]

Re: Any IT Guys- Virus Question

Yeah it's a myth that they absolutely cannot get them. It's far less likely for it to happen, but it can. It's rare for a Mac to be infected by a virus that's not specifically built for a Mac, but in no way is it impossible.

I use http://www.iantivirus.com/ for mine. It's free and has an easy scan option. If you're really serious about protecting your Mac after this, Norton has an option specific to them.

[MattUMD224]

Re: Any IT Guys- Virus Question

Ummm it is a myth that Macs can't get viruses. They can.....It really depends on what kind of virus she had. Some viruses can spread just from chatting through MSN or yahoo messenger.

To be safe I would just scan it anyway.

She said people were saying it was a link to go take an IQ test at another site which wanted their cell phone number.

[dan_457]

Re: Any IT Guys- Virus Question

Honestly I'd be very surprised if you actually had a virus, but it's not impossible i guess. First of all, does the girl you were chatting with have a mac too, or does she use windows? I believe virus are Operating system specific, which is why Macs have less risk of getting a virus, because it has fewer virus' for written for them.

[MattUMD224]

Re: Any IT Guys- Virus Question

Honestly I'd be very surprised if you actually had a virus, but it's not impossible i guess. First of all, does the girl you were chatting with have a mac too, or does she use windows? I believe virus are Operating system specific, which is why Macs have less risk of getting a virus, because it has fewer virus' for written for them.

I didn't ask. But I have a feeling that since I never got a link or clicked on anything I'm fine.

I just ran my AppleCare plan scan on my computer and no issues came up.

[Cabke]

Re: Any IT Guys- Virus Question

I believe virus are Operating system specific, which is why Macs have less risk of getting a virus, because it has fewer virus' for written for them.

Exactly. Most viruses are targeted at people who have cheap computers with no antivirus, making themselves way more vulnerable. That and so many more people regularly use PC's, it's kinda pointless for someone to code a virus for a Mac.

[Scottdau]

Re: Any IT Guys- Virus Question

You have to be careful talking to girls.

[WyxHarmon]

Re: Any IT Guys- Virus Question

Textually Transmitted Disease.



Download Kapersky free trial off their website. Top of the line, free for a month. I did that and ran a scan to find a ton of viruses, now my computer runs like new.