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there are tons of stuff were Apple apps have favorable integration other apps only can dream off.

Keep dreaming. Apple is nothing if not consistent in fiercely protecting their customer's privacy, and most of the access you speak of is used for violating customer privacy.

As far as the chips go: The chips should be walled off with only API access. That's just proper OS design.

You want to know the reason why Apple doesn't allow anybody else to use NFC? I have a better question for you: Why should they trust you or anybody else? Facebook violated pretty much every privacy rule Apple had with their "Facebook Research" app, and Google did the same with Google Screenwise.

Allowing somebody else would open the door for the alternative payment service to harvest a customer's payment information -- something Apple won't allow on its devices.

Apple has very strong, very consistent rules to prevent developers in its ecosystem from abusing Apple's customers. Telling developers they will not be allowed to fuck with Apple's customers is a strong selling point in the brand.

Apple can go ape themselves with faceid. It's a step back from touchid

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to educate others.

I find what you say to absolutely to be not the case, having had the iPhoneX since launch. How long have you owned or used a FaceID device? My guess is never.

In fact I was planning on buying a newer iPad, but held off my purchase until iPads include FaceID also, I like it so much more.

I find it VASTLY better than touchID. I like how it authenticates without thought, for many uses the device works just like the old days when people did not have passcodes, and of course FaceID is also much more secure than TouchID (by 20x or more).

This is entirely a personal preference. Face ID is not going to recognize me with a motorcycle helmet on. And yes, I have pulled over on my motorcycle to answer an urgent text before. I also find your comment that it authenticates without thought to be disingenuous. So does Touch Id. Only I can have my phone unlocked before it even comes out of my pocket or bag and you have to wait until you look at your phone to have it start to unlock.

Apple can go ape themselves with faceid. It's a step back from touchid

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to educate others.

I find what you say to absolutely to be not the case, having had the iPhoneX since launch. How long have you owned or used a FaceID device? My guess is never.

In fact I was planning on buying a newer iPad, but held off my purchase until iPads include FaceID also, I like it so much more.

I find it VASTLY better than touchID. I like how it authenticates without thought, for many uses the device works just like the old days when people did not have passcodes, and of course FaceID is also much more secure than TouchID (by 20x or more).

2001 called, they want their illusion of Mac being free from viruses and ransomware back.

A popular video conversion app for Mac has suffered a malware infection on one of its mirror servers. If you downloaded HandBrake between 10:30 a.m. EDT on May 2, 2017 and 7:00 p.m. EDT on May 6, 2017, you should follow these instructions to check your Mac for a new variant of the malware OSX.PROTON.

https://www.macobserver.com/ne...

Mac Users Hit by Rare Ransomware Attack, Spread via Transmission BitTorrent App

https://www.intego.com/mac-sec...

Patcher Ransomware Attacks macOS, Encrypts Files Permanently

https://www.intego.com/mac-sec...

etc.

Now, let's compare that list to Windows, shall we?

2001 called, they want their illusion of Mac being free from viruses and ransomware back.

A popular video conversion app for Mac has suffered a malware infection on one of its mirror servers. If you downloaded HandBrake between 10:30 a.m. EDT on May 2, 2017 and 7:00 p.m. EDT on May 6, 2017, you should follow these instructions to check your Mac for a new variant of the malware OSX.PROTON.

https://www.macobserver.com/ne...

Mac Users Hit by Rare Ransomware Attack, Spread via Transmission BitTorrent App

https://www.intego.com/mac-sec...

Patcher Ransomware Attacks macOS, Encrypts Files Permanently

https://www.intego.com/mac-sec...

etc.

Now, let's compare that list to Windows, shall we?

2001 called, they want their illusion of Mac being free from viruses and ransomware back.

A popular video conversion app for Mac has suffered a malware infection on one of its mirror servers. If you downloaded HandBrake between 10:30 a.m. EDT on May 2, 2017 and 7:00 p.m. EDT on May 6, 2017, you should follow these instructions to check your Mac for a new variant of the malware OSX.PROTON.

https://www.macobserver.com/ne...

Mac Users Hit by Rare Ransomware Attack, Spread via Transmission BitTorrent App

https://www.intego.com/mac-sec...

Patcher Ransomware Attacks macOS, Encrypts Files Permanently

https://www.intego.com/mac-sec...

etc.

2001 called, they want their illusion of Mac being free from viruses and ransomware back.

A popular video conversion app for Mac has suffered a malware infection on one of its mirror servers. If you downloaded HandBrake between 10:30 a.m. EDT on May 2, 2017 and 7:00 p.m. EDT on May 6, 2017, you should follow these instructions to check your Mac for a new variant of the malware OSX.PROTON.

https://www.macobserver.com/ne...

Mac Users Hit by Rare Ransomware Attack, Spread via Transmission BitTorrent App

https://www.intego.com/mac-sec...

Patcher Ransomware Attacks macOS, Encrypts Files Permanently

https://www.intego.com/mac-sec...

etc.

Get good AV like Intego. https://www.intego.com/
A firewall product like https://www.obdev.at/products/...
RansomWhere? https://objective-see.com/
Malwarebytes https://www.malwarebytes.com/m...

2008: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/v...

2009: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

2010: https://nakedsecurity.sophos.c...

Look what some moron said about the same subject back in 2011:
http://www.developers.slashdot...

2012: https://www.intego.com/mac-sec...

2012: http://www.zdnet.com/article/c...

2012: http://www.infosecisland.com/b...

etc., etc.

IE 11 alone has almost as many users as Firefox does in total. The same goes for iOS Safari 9.2.

That's because the App Store Review Guidelines forbid you from running any browser other than Safari on an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad without discarding your iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad. Chrome for iOS wraps Safari, as do all the other browsers on this list that aren't Opera Mini. Opera Mini doesn't run on the iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad either; it's essentially Remote Desktop to a proxy that can log your keys.

I remember the day when ROM actually meant Read Only Memory.......and why Thunderbolt devices need to be re-writeable "flash" firmware instead of ROM is a mystery to me. I'm not aware of Apple issuing any firmware upgrades to these devices since their inception.

1. The "Option ROM" is a 35-year-old concept that is certainly not unique to Apple, hence the fact that these Vulnerabilities also pertain to Windows/Linux PCs (like the one you are probably using right now). Here is a quick explanation of the original intent behind the "Option ROM".

2. OS X 10.10.2, released in January, 2015, Fixed this vulnerability; so keep your systems Up-To-Date!!!

3. Because of the way that Apple patched this vulnerability, I would expect that Thunderstrike 2 will not infect Macs running OS X 10.10.2 or above. 4. If you're already infected, you are probably hosed.

What I would like to see is some way to detect whether a particular computer (of any type) is infected with Thunderstrike.

http://www.intego.com/mac-secu...

"We’ve gotten reports about an interesting feature in Snow Leopard, the new version of Mac OS X due for release this Friday. According to reports we’ve seen – and the screen shot below – Snow Leopard contains an antimalware feature." http://blog.intego.com/snow-leopard-contains-an-antivirus/

According to Intego, this malware is fairly sophisticated in its actions, but it is not very widespread. http://blog.intego.com/new-malware-devilrobber-grabs-files-and-bitcoins-performs-bitcoin-mining-and-more/ For now, security researchers have only seen DevilRobber in a handful of Mac applications distributed via BitTorrent trackers. So as long as you avoid downloading software from untrusted sites, you should be OK.

Add in some http://cs.nyu.edu/trackmenot/ to your browser too.
As for this, http://blog.intego.com/2011/09/23/mac-pdf-trojan-horse-surfaces-threat-is-low/
A Mac security company notes: 'threat to be very low, as this is not found in the wild."

Try http://www.intego.com/, it runs in the background, updates in the background and is not too expensive.
Little Snitch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Snitch (a software outgoing firewall for Mac OS X) is good too.
Have you ever found anything? - only Trojan.OSX.RSPlug. (changes Domain Name System (DNS) settings)

Part of the infection path is search engine poisoning.

Seriously - you could be searching for lawn chairs and end up at a site that announces that your computer is seriously infected with viruses. Video of one install process. That one is lame, as it's a Windows lookalike, but this one is more convincing. And keep in mind - most users are idiots, and even more believe that they'll never ever fall for such scams.

Are you also suggesting that Linux users should stay away from the Internet? I mean, it would remove a massive infection vector, but that's true for ALL operating systems - Windows included.

Your comments are bogus until you tell me how the malware is installed on my Mac. Oh, I have to enter an administrator password to allow it? Well, then, shame on me for allowing it in! If it can sneak in without my explicit permission, then your comments are valid.

The same way Android phones get infected - alternative methods of software delivery. I believe a couple of years ago there were pirated torrents of Microsoft Office 2008, iWork, iLife, and Photoshop CSwhatever that had an additional package in their dmg's that were NOT in the official releases. That additional package installed a simple botnet into your Mac.

It's not as uncommon as you may think. People wnat stuff for free, and everyone knows that, so malware authors hitch a ride by infecting keygens, cracks and other things to spread. You may think you're protected, but it just takes one torrent or other thing. (Or how and why people will go to great lengths ot use alternative Marketplaces for Android, as well).

http://www.macrumors.com/2009/01/22/iwork-09-torrent-carrying-os-x-trojan/
http://www.intego.com/news/ism0901.asp
http://www.techjaws.com/osx-trojan-on-the-loose/

For sufficiently loose definitions of "virus" (i.e. any malware, which is what most users mean) there actually is some in the wild at present.

http://www.intego.com/news/osx-opinionspy-spyware-installed-by-freely-distributed-mac-applications.asp
http://blog.intego.com/2009/06/19/new-rsplug-trojan-horse-variant-found-on-game-sites/

Found that in a casual glance down a completely unrelated story (on browser privacy). Is there any malware that is actively exploiting a genuine 0-day in OS X at present? I don't know, but I wouldn't count the possibility out.

For sufficiently loose definitions of "virus" (i.e. any malware, which is what most users mean) there actually is some in the wild at present.

http://www.intego.com/news/osx-opinionspy-spyware-installed-by-freely-distributed-mac-applications.asp
http://blog.intego.com/2009/06/19/new-rsplug-trojan-horse-variant-found-on-game-sites/

Found that in a casual glance down a completely unrelated story (on browser privacy). Is there any malware that is actively exploiting a genuine 0-day in OS X at present? I don't know, but I wouldn't count the possibility out.

They now have real malware with pretty pictures.
The end user still has to install the software, but its a move in the right direction.
How many more years until Apple desktop malware has the classic surf and own functionality?
http://blog.intego.com/2010/06/01/intego-security-alert-osxopinionspy-spyware-installed-by-freely-distributed-mac-applications/
As for MS, they had how many years to secure a single users OS.
They finally started launching PR about it and seem to finally have packed some buzz word tech into the backend.
Great, but the damage was done, is been done and will be done until MS spends the cash to write a real OS.
They have the smart people, can reuse ideas from other OS ect.
Why is MS still so open around the world? They are not poor, distracted, have security clearances, top US university support... MS has all it needs.
Greed and easy market share all over the world got MS to the top, but is the OS really worth anything anymore in a networked world until totally reworked?

people are talking about how poorly designed Windows security is and how the user usually always runs as "administrator"

Speaking of always running as administrator, it may interest you to know that the trojan requires the user to manually enter an administrator password before it can spread on the latest version of OS X.

So no, it's not a "double standard" to point out that double-clicking an .exe file can root your PC, but you need to enter an administrator password to get a trojan running on OS X.

According to intego, this exploit does NOT work if ARD has been activated via the sharing preference pane. So in a typical lab situation, the exploit will not work b/c the admin used ARD to do admin things (like send shell script commands to all the lab machines in parallel.) Home users typically don't turn ARD on, and thus would be vulnerable, but home users typically trust everyone using their systems. Most of the exploits perpetrated via this vector will likely be by children who want to disable parental controls.

Mac OS X has no root user by default, and as a potential victim you need to type in an admin password in order to install the trojan. Even if "open safe files" was turned on (which it isn't any more), it won't install until you double-click on the package installer, click thru the installer, and type in an admin password.

Yes, but hasn't Intego tried to scare Mac users into purchasing their virus protection before? In fact, they've done this quite a bit. Check out their report and pay close attention to the "Means of protection" paragraph at the end of the article.

The news is Intego attempting to scare up business, this is not a Mac virus, especially when you have to do quite a few stupid things along with giving permission to install from an admin. My goodnes...

There are also some virus checkers on OS X as well. Does that mean you think there are viruses too? Virus checkers on OS X exist to filter out windows viruses from being spread by shared documents.

Apple UK ads say there isnt any spyware... Yes there is and there are programs to deal with them such as intego's internet barrier, smithmicro's internet cleanup and securemac's MacScan antispyware..... Apple should face reality. they do the security updates...

...Is he right, and what actual products exist for OS X that would protect against infections?

2) The iPod, like all other storage devices, can carry a trojan or virus.
You've got to be kidding me? That beat up of a story from intego in an attempt to see anti-virus software for Mac?

In another newsflash, applications can have whatever damn icon they want, they might even look like a document. Wow, that's revolutionary, I bet you haven't been able to do that since the first GUI let you have custom icons for applications.

Get a life.

No Viruses
True thus far

No Trojans
Want to rethink that MacOS X Trojan

indefinite uptime
Not a valid metric

great applications
In the eyes of the beholder

I see no misreporting of the facts. The fact is that the person in question downloaded it via limewire. I see no statement that excludes other gnutella clients.

A Macworld reader alerted the magazine to the malware after he downloaded the file from Limewire.

The latest advisory, posted to the company's Web site on Wednesday, warns of a Trojan Horse downloaded from the LimeWire peer-to-peer network[...]

The reader in question downloaded the file from the Gnutella peer-to-peer network, thinking that it was a public beta of Microsoft Word 2004.

According to Intego the file was a 108 KB AppleScript applet. When was the last time Micro$oft released anything resembling an application 108 KB in size.

Dunno about any Linux ones, but currently the only real reason to run a virus scanner on the Mac is essentially as a courtesy to Windows users you may send files to, so you don't pass on anything that's infected.

Most of the a/v software firms who sell Mac products will grudgingly admit as much, except for (judging by their Chicken Little-esque press release) Intego.

nobody asked, but that won't stop me from answering :)

For AIM: Adium
For a tweaked OS: Cocktail and TinkerTool
For a better OS: my collection of haxies for Unsanity's Application Enhancer (ClearDock, FruitMenu, Metallifizer, Mighty Mouse, ShapeShifter, SharedMenus, Silk, WindowShade X)
For privacy/security: NetBarrier, PeerVanguard (not because I trade P2P, but because I wear a tinfoil hat), Little Snitch
Helpful apps: Butler, QuickSilver, DragThing
For everything else: VLC, SBook5, Transmit, Path Finder, Apple Dev Tools

it's more than 10, but those are all put almost instantly on every fresh OS X install I touch.

The linked article (and most coverage of this trojan) is very misleading. This trojan does not delete files, propagate itself, or infect other files. The press release from Intego just says that a trojan like this could do those things. Read the press release for yourself.

Intego Press Release

The important thing to realize here is that Mac OS X, while very secure, is not perfect. And no matter what OS you are using, you should be very careful what you double click! Let's hope Apple nails this quickly!

From my read of their PR page about this, it sounds like something they entirely fabricated themselves to sell their software. There is nothing in the wild and no reports on respectable security sites, just Intego saying they "isolated" something and you should buy their FUD^H^H^Hproduct. As others have pointed out, a trojan is possible on any system if you can get the user to jump through elaborate enough hoops. So the next time you download an unknown MP3 (or whatever) file with an intact resource fork from an anonymous source and give it executable status so you can double-click it instead of just adding it to your iTunes library (or playing it in Finder with a single click in column view), be glad you also shelled out money to Intego so that you are protected from your own stupid and unnecessary actions! That it's come to this shows just how hard it is for anti-virus types to make money on the Mac.