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Apple Quietly Recommends Antivirus Software For Macs
Barence writes "After years of boasting about the Mac's near invincibility, Apple is now advising its customers to install security software on their computers. Apple — which has continually played on Windows' vulnerability to viruses in its advertising campaigns — issued the advice in a low-key message on its support forums. 'Apple encourages the widespread use of multiple antivirus utilities so that virus programmers have more than one application to circumvent, thus making the whole virus writing process more difficult.' It goes on to recommend a handful of products." Reader wild_berry points out the BBC's story on the unexpected recommendation.
as apple gains market share, more virus authors will target it, until its penetration rate is equal to windows, which only has the penetration rate it has because of its popularity
if windows were an obscure os, its marketers would trumpet its low virus rate as a feature
likewise, if linux gains more popularity, it will be targetted, and exploited, at the same rate as windows is now
cue the linux and apple zealots who think their os is somehow more inherently secure than windows
exploits are just as much about social engineering, and the security of the programs that run on top of the os, as they are about the os. in such a way, advertising better security in one os versus another is a misnomer
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
That mentality is just what virus writers are looking for.
---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
Unix based systems mature, Widows mased systems age.
That is why unix is used as an exampl of a secure OS.
Bringing up an ancient UNIX worm would be like me complaining Vista sucks becasue windows 3.1 didn't have network connectivity by default.
Vista has plenty of other reasons it sucks.
"In fact, Windows NT and its successors have a more advanced security model than Unix, allowing more than a separation of users and groups. "
No, it doesn't. More complexity does not equal better model.
Market share = virus is a fallacy, and if you can't understand why, please STFU.
"There's little reason to believe that Mac OS X is protected from viruses by anything other than its low market share at this point."
Are you really the ignorant, or are you just stupid beyond help?
Fame. fortune, ego, history. These are all reasons for people skilled to do so to create a working virus fro OSX.
The number of users does not determine security.
The only thing it effects is the number of times an exploit gets used.
7% is a lot of users, millions in fact.
That's a lot of notoriety.
Considering most of windows exploits are modifications of other exploit code, it's usually script kiddies level of competency, where as cracking OSX would bring out top tier skill level.
Talk to peopel with that skill level. Most of them are doing it for the 'thrill' not to actuall get something off the machine. That's done by people that come around later.
Now we can talk large organized groups. Imagine being able to crack into millions of computers assumed to be secure by default? you qyuld get a lot of information you could sell.
I talk about exploits and craking information viruses becasue that's where the money lies, as opposed to destructive viruses which would be used for laughs, revenge, and Proof of concept.
In all practicality, the amount you can gain from access is far greater then destruction.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
-Benjamin Franklin
Not to mention that implementations denying users privileges has been annoying at best (UAC on Fista (VISTA), destroyed and removed while OS still called Longhorn LOL ) and often disastrous (the crypto used on DVD and BluRay (cracked a few months and a few weeks post release, respectively).
Doing these things makes ordinarily whitehat power users seethe. We then violently crack the protection on general principal. Some two-bit weenie in Redmond or Cupertino is NOT going to tell me what I can and can't do with MY system!