Article says more hackers may try to hack Macs/OS X

[dolphin]

Security of Macs

Interesting article!

[D76]

This story has come under attack on a bunch of Mac sites. The story was torqued by the writer to make it sound as though the Mac OS somehow is vulnerable to a Windows virus merely because Apple's iPod hardware was loaded with Microsoft software. It's the same as saying the Mac OS is being targeted because of Windows running under Boot Camp.
 
 The writer also is delving into the small-market-share myth. There are tens of millions of Macs worldwide, and none of them has been attacked by a virus, because there aren't any. Within hours of the first few thousand copies of the first Microsoft Vista distributed to developers only, Vista was hacked. No market share could have been smaller.
 
 A few sites have torn this story to shreds, and CNN was forced to change the original headline over it that was even more misleading, along with the second paragraph.
 
 The writer is an ignoramus or in the pay of Microsoft.

[Gregg]

QUOTE(D76 @ Oct 22 2006, 12:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This story has come under attack on a bunch of Mac sites.

The writer is an ignoramus or in the pay of Microsoft.

Please explain how the two are mutually exclusive.

[krissel]

The most important part of the article:

QUOTE

Hoopes said Mac OS X is based on the UNIX operating system, which was developed by Bell Labs in the 1960's and at the University of California, Berkeley, through the 1970s. Variants of Unix power most of the servers on the Internet and the system has a reputation for security.

Although experts give Microsoft credit for greatly improving the security of its Windows operating system over the last few years, most still say Apple has the Seattle software giant beat.

"The Mac OS X has a higher security profile," said Ray Wagner, a vice president at Gartner, a technology research firm. "It's not generating anywhere near the same rate of problems, even on a per capita basis."

What I fail to hear is that anyone who manages to break into the Mac OS with a virus would get not only fame but a small but supposedly wealthy group of targets. After all, if Macs are so expensive then their purchasers would present a more lucrative victim than the average PC user. On the other hand, PC users are probably less intelligent so they would be easier to dupe...



Yeah, OK, I used all the typical stereotypes, but gee wiz didn't the author of the article?


Oh, the last line.. "Apple did not comment on this story."

No, they were too busy laughing their ***es off!  

[kbeartx]

I have refrained from adding to this thread up 'till now b/c the article and the flawed thinking behind it annoys me so.

Something seldom pointed out in this kind of 'analysis' is the fact that 'market share' is ALWAYS calculated based on new computer purchases, and we all know that Macs have a much longer useful life than peesees, so the number of Macs IN USE is probably 2,3, or 4 times the number of new ones purchased recently.

[krissel]

Good point, kbear.

[Gregg]

You mean my G3, purchased in 1998 doesn't count??!

[krissel]

Nope, nor does my 9600, made in '97.  

[Gregg]

Can you say disenfranchised?

[Gary S]

QUOTE

Microsoft says virus-creators are starting to train their sights on other platforms.

"As we've made improvements to the security of Microsoft software and services, we've seen cyber criminals shift their focus to other platforms and applications," said Stephen Toulouse, Microsoft's security program manager.

Apple did not comment on this story.

I think this kind of says it all and as kbear says. it's a poorly written article.