Viruses should be a concern for Mac users

Earlier this month Sophos released a free version of their product for the Mac, Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition. Since then, they have been gathering data from their users. They recently released some statistics from the clients on their Naked Security Blog and found that users should be concerned about what might be hiding on their hard drive.


So far Sophos says that they have 150,000 Mac users and of those users nearly 50,000 have already reported finding malware on the computer. Interestingly enough the most common malware that the software detected was Mal/ASFDldr-A, a malware targeted at Windows machines. Mal/ASDFDldr-A takes advantage of a flaw in Windows Media Player which allows the infected media file to open a malicious web page rather than display the desired content.

They found though that the majority of attacks detected were Java exploits which are cross platform and were typically found in the internet cache on users computers. But lower on the list they did find some OS X specific pieces of malware OSX/Jahlav-C and OSX/DNSCha-E. OSX/Jahlav-C is a variant of OSX/DNSCha-E which happens to be a piece of malware that known as a DNS changer. When a DNS changer hijacks your computers DNS settings your web surfing can be almost completely compromised. Even if it looks like you are at Google.com and the page looks like Google's home page your DNS settings may have sent you to a server in China where malicious code is being executed in your browser.

The results show that the majority of files are more dangerous on Windows than on a Mac but that doesn't mean the virus goes away. If you plan to share files with a Windows computer it would be a good idea to maintain some sort of anti-virus protection just to be sure you are not spreading a virus to a more vulnerable operating system.
 

Source: http://www.neowin.net/news/viruses-should-be-a-concern-for-mac-users

Synchronizing/Loading songs in an APPLE IPOD?

I've very frequently received requests on how to load songs onto an apple ipod and so, providing a simple tutorial here for the same. please note, apple ipods are not simple MP3 players which can play songs that are copied directly onto the IPOD drive. they have to synchronised using some software. the following tutorial uses the recommended synchronising software -- Itunes by Apple.

Initially u need to download the itunes software from http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ . you'll be asked for ur mail ID on this site. provide it and a download link for the software will be mailed to you. after downloading and installing the software, proceed as follows:

1. Double-click on the "iTunes" icon to open the program and then transfer all of your music files into iTunes. To add music from CDs, simply load a CD into your computer's drive, wait for iTunes to see the playlist and then click "Import." To add music from another program, go to the "File" menu and select "Add to Library." You will then be able to click on any music files you would like to transfer.


2. Plug your iPod into a USB port on your computer and wait for iTunes to automatically recognize the device. You will be asked to name and register your iPod, after which you can click "Finish" and begin to load music.


3. Click on "Library," found in the left hand column to reveal all of the music you have transfered to iTunes. To load songs onto your iPod, highlight one or more songs and then drag them to your iPod. Your iPod will be found in the same column where you found the library, under the name you chose earlier. As soon as you drop the files into your iPod, they will quickly copy.


4. Eject your iPod once you have loaded all of the music you'd like by clicking on the arrow next to your iPod's name. When the name disappears, you can remove the USB cable and begin enjoying your portable music.

P.S:Make sure you do not unplug your iPod while the transfer is happening,it will not complete and may result in damage of the ipod.