"The Unofficial Apple Weblog has posted a short story on the top five mistakes made by new Mac users. It includes closing an application window and thinking it has quit, downloading software and then running it from the disk image (runs slowly, can't eject disk image), and Windows .exe files littered around the desktop after they've tried to download software and install it. The comments attached to the article are entertaining, and pick up many other common mistakes. Here's a precise list of things that TUAW and its users said in comments, and a few of my own."
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Member since:2006-01-08
Is that one for real? Has anyone using OS X actually that kind of software magicially appear on their desktop? Short of the user trying to download and install it themself, of course.
Apple recently introduced a pop-up warning that a download is a application and gets the user the choice to continue or abort.
But yes for many years us Mac managers were plaqued with icons appearing on the desktop that looked like a file, but was a application.
Because doubleclicking on a file launches it's associated application.
Also Apple has insituted a "first time" application launch warning, so the option to cancel is there, before the trojan wipes the user folder out.
Still stuff can appear on the desktop by simply visiting a site, but tricking the user to get it to run is a bit more difficult.
Mac users are especially vunerable to phishing scams that incorporate a trojan that requires a admin password.
More and more regular software seems to require this admin password to run, to install their copy protection schemes or provide a "speed benefit" as Apple does nothing to educate it's user base on the dangers of releasing admin passwords to programs.
A lot has to do with third party software makers wanting more control, give better features or some other excuse, like marketing info to run as root. Mac OS X doesn't even provide a outgoing firewall or log all network connections, just the blocked incoming ones.
All a third party program has to do is ask for a admin password and most Mac users will simply give it.
Mac OS X doesn't even play gatekeeper, like it should.
Edited 2006-02-08 23:46
Member since:
2005-12-17
Their very first mistake was buying Mac OS X! Bwah hah hah!
Naw, just messing with you. Gotcha.
I have to know, though:
3) .exe files lie scattered around the desktop from aborted downloads of Flash Player or some screensaver-cursor-spyware doodad.
Is that one for real? Has anyone using OS X actually that kind of software magicially appear on their desktop? Short of the user trying to download and install it themself, of course.
I think that most web sites now-a-days correctly detect when you're running un an "unsupported" operating system and aren't stupid enough to try and serve you up an .exe or an .rpm if you're running under OS X, for instance.