“The Mac platform is more secure than Windows and will continue to be so,” David Morgenstern writes for eWeek. “Certainly, we can all agree that Mac users hate Windows. On the other hand, most Windows users hate the Macintosh and, moreover, Mac users. And those Mac ads.”
MacDailyNews Take: One big difference: The majority of Mac users have used WIndows (at work, school, etc.) and have therefore made an informed choice to use the superior Mac. On the flip side, the vast majority of Windows sufferers who “hate” the Macintosh and Mac users have no idea what they’re missing. They didn’t choose Windows, it’s all they know. Most every “Mac-hater” crumbles when posed one simple question, “When is the last time you used a Mac, if ever?” Nobody likes to be told they wasted their money, time, and effort on the wrong platform and that they’re using an inferior operating system, but that doesn’t make it untrue. Don’t hate the Mac or Mac users for telling you the facts. Windows-only users: Use a Mac — really use it for awhile, for real tasks, not just noodling around with it for a few minutes in an Apple Store — then, and only then, will you be able to make an informed choice. Go ahead, we dare you to really use a Mac (because we know what’ll happen when you do).
Morgenstern continues, “The Mac is a better platform when it comes to security and malware attacks… Take a look at the exploits actually seen in the wild on the Wild List. In March, the group recorded 766 different viruses, with a supplemental group bringing the total to 1,709 titles. None are on the Mac. A search through security vendor F-Secure’s Virus Description Database for the word ‘Macintosh’ brings up 24 total hits. Most of them are MS Word macro viruses, and five were hoax reports.”
Morgenstern writes, “So based on these figures, it would take a lot of attacks to make a dent in the Mac’s good name and challenge the current record on the PC side. However, by my reckoning of the installed bases for each platform, there should be many more exploits for the Mac. Depending on how you calculate the number—2, 3, 5 or whatever percent—shouldn’t there be that corresponding percentage of viruses on the Mac in these lists?”
“A side note: Some folks estimate the number of Mac users—ones who actually buy things or read content on the Web—is a greater figure than we would find by looking at pure sales or when looking at the entire PC installed base. Mostly, this means that there’s evidence that Mac users are undercounted,” Morgenstern writes. “…Also, it’s not as if Mac users are hiding off the Web. They are exposed in the same way Windows users are.”
Morgenstern writes, “Credit must go to Apple, according to wireless security blogger Glenn Fleishman, based in Seattle… Fleishman said that while there have been exploits demonstrated on the Mac, many are very difficult to accomplish out in the wild. ‘No one has come up with a good vector to spread infection on the Mac; that’s what stymies people,’ he said. ‘Even if you came up with the world’s best Wi-Fi exploit drive around the city, and actually take ownership of 100 Macs, even then, with root-level access on a Mac, you can’t just deploy [an exploit] exponentially or even arithmetically. You can’t even add one more,’ he said.”
“I believe there’s another reason for the Mac’s amazing security record, beyond the technical and beyond any protection afforded by its supposed market ‘obscurity.’ The protection is cultural. It’s that legendary ‘strong’ installed base of loyal users,” Morgenstern writes. “Consider this: The Mac is the most homogeneous computing platform in the world. That should make it the most vulnerable. Instead, it has the strongest real-world record when it comes to exploits. Surely, that record will continue.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we’ve said repeatedly: There are zero-percent (0%) of viruses for the Mac OS X platform that should, logically, have some 10-16% of the world’s viruses if platforms’ install bases dictate the numbers of viruses. The fact that Mac OS X has zero (0) viruses totally discounts “security via obscurity.” 22+ million Mac OS X installs is not “obscure” at all, but 6+ years of users surfing unimpeded certainly is “secure.” There should be at least some Mac OS X viruses. There are none. The reason for this fact is not attributable solely to ‘obscurity,’ it’s attributable to superior security design.
What’s that putrid burning smell coming from eWeek?
Flamebait.
“Certainly, we can all agree that Mac users hate Windows. On the other hand, most Windows users hate the Macintosh and, moreover, Mac users. And those Mac ads.”
And on the third hand, I think we can all agree that everyone who makes generalizations is an ass.
It’s pleasant to read articles that reinforce my own beliefs… Gimmie more! More! More! More!
“The world is too complicated.” — Barry Markowicz
I sincerely doubt that the Mac installed base is “homogeneous”. Rich folks, poor folks, left, right, man, woman, child, elderly, Christian, non-Christian — I don’t see much homogeneity there.
Priceless excerpts from eWeek’s talkback:
“The whole thing is comparing apples and oranges. I really wish we could get off the whole thing, Mac’s time will come eventually. I hope all of these opinion pieces will be recanted when it happens. Maybe, just maybe, the productivity we Windows users get and the wealth of software we can use makes up for the occasional bug. And, any PC user with half a brain can VERY easily protect themselves – so all of these exploits rarely, if ever, affect us.”
“The MAC (sic) is more secure because fewer people write code targeted at the MAC. Just like most commercial software developers people who write viruses are looking to penetrate the biggest market. When the Windows platform outnumbers the MAC more than 10 to 1 which platform would you write code for? The whole argument is nonsense.”
“I recently had some communication with a journalist who was setting up a Mac for her daughter. I spoke about several points that are addressed in this article. Many people have written her and boast how there have been “Zero attacks on OS X. My concern is how many in the Mac community have a false sense of security and denial that is based on the minimalist activity. Anyone who reads and understands what Apple patches have been made, would understand that there are indeed vulnerabilities.”
The FUD machine is alive and well.
The Mac platform is more secure than Windows and will continue to be so
FACT
1: 95% of exploits/vunerabilities are in software other than the OS. Admin password installs anyone?
2: IBM just released information that publically known vunerabilities represent only 1/20 of vunerabilities found. This is being gauged upon how many are fixed in house, penetration tested and sold on the market to anti-malware firms/government agencies.
3: Currently Mac OS X vunerabilites far exceed Linux and Windows. Apple has released over 110 fixes this year alone.
4: Market share is directly responsible for how many of these vunerabilites actually make it to public exploits and malware.
Quote OhReally: “Currently Mac OS X vunerabilites far exceed Linux and Windows.”
Name them….
“Apple has released over 110 fixes this year alone.”
By definition these vulnerabilities have been fixed. (= not there anymore)
eWeek’s guess is better than MDN’s … “2, 3, 5 or whatever percent” vs “some 10-16%”. All things considered, I’d guess a reasonable number might be more like 1% or the total. Meaning, somewhere out there there ought to be one or two dozen bits of malware salivating over my DP Mac. OK, maybe only seven or eight. Anyone seen one? Not an exploit, an actual reproducing exploit. No, me neither.
About the numbers of Mac haters vs Windows haters … there are many more of the latter – folks who hate the system they use but can’t/won’t justify a change.
DLMeyer – the Voice of G.L.Horton’s Stage Page Pod Cast
‘No one has come up with a good vector to spread infection on the Mac; that’s what stymies people,’ he said. ‘Even if you came up with the world’s best Wi-Fi exploit drive around the city, and actually take ownership of 100 Macs, even then, with root-level access on a Mac, you can’t just deploy [an exploit] exponentially or even arithmetically. You can’t even add one more,’
This is what I’ve been saying all along. Every time some demonstrates some “exploit”, it’s always one guy manually taking over one machine. There’s no real threat there unless the process can be automated and jump from Mac to Mac.
MacDailyNews: Don’t you ever get tired of preaching to the choir?
‘No one has come up with a good vector to spread infection on the Mac; that’s what stymies people,’ he said. ‘Even if you came up with the world’s best Wi-Fi exploit drive around the city, and actually take ownership of 100 Macs, even then, with root-level access on a Mac, you can’t just deploy [an exploit] exponentially or even arithmetically. You can’t even add one more,’ he said.”
Uh what about the 100 pwned Mac’s?
There is this serious misconcpetion that exploits=viruses that it’s the goal of all malware writers to take over as many machines in short order as possible.
Hackers have different objectives and not necessary going to announce their presence in your box by foolishly making a spam/virus bot out of it. They may just prefer to spy on your porn, send some, grab your passwords or watch you through your iSight camera.
Spam bots are desired by hackers in poor foriegn countries who sell them to marketeers. Mac’s hardly make a presence in poor countries, they are using pirated versions of Windows on homemade hardware. OS X requires a rather expensive hardware purchase and Apple tracks your usage by your computers id number. (Mac OS X phones home quite regularly)
It’s been admited that 2 out of 3 IT personel still have access to their former employers networks and computers. Also 2 out of 3 IT personal have admitted reading sensitive company data/emails.
Read more articles online and learn the truth.
http://cve.mitre.org/
http://nvd.nist.gov/
enjoy
So if -everyone- that makes generalizations is an ass… doesn’t that include you, Toasty?
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‘most Windows users hate the Macintosh and, moreover, Mac users.’
What a load of male bovine feces. Most windows users don’t know dick about the Mac and many have lsome interested in them. As in the real world there are a certain (low) percentage that hate the ones that ‘think different’.
Nuster=Buster without his glasses
The article mentions reports of successful “zombie attacks”? Is there any evidence that there ever were any?
“The Mac platform is more secure than Windows and will continue to be so”.
This is what I call NEWS. Thanks a lot for the info.
Does eWeek mention anything about Atari?
‘most Windows users hate the Macintosh and, moreover, Mac users.
Thats total B*llsh*t
Most window users do not really no the difference, but as they are exposed, thru marketing, friends that use, iPod ect, many are becoming very curious and open towards the Mac.
Thats my .02 cents, from a 10 month switcher, and a converter of 6 people since,(okay , 3 were for family that I bought)
“any PC user with half a brain can VERY easily protect themselves “
Yes, this is one of the standard defences of the foaming-at-the-mouth Windows fanboys. It must make the smarter heads at Microsoft cringe: insulting your customer base is very foolish.
Now, Vint Cerf, the “father of the Internet”, has estimated that one quarter of the PCs connected to the internet is in a botnet:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070125-8707.html
One thing is certain: one quarter of those using PCs can’t be described as having less than “half a brain”, as the Windows fanboy posting above so rudely put it.
No, they’re not stupid at all. They’ve been let down by their software vendor, viz. Microsoft. That vendor has been negligent and irresponsible, and what it has finally done is too little too late.
On the other hand, most Windows users hate the Macintosh
—
In other words, this guy is not living in reality and hasn’t been out of the house. Most PC users think of Apple the way they think of… HP or Sony.. a computer company… that also happens to make a cool music player.
This is just nerd drama bullshit.
PS. Mac more secure than Windows? Okay. No shit. The sky is Blue.
Actually this in the original article is false:
“Certainly, we can all agree that Mac users hate Windows. On the other hand, most Windows users hate the Macintosh and, moreover, Mac users. And those Mac ads.”
A few foolish people, and a number of Redmond lackeys in the media, undoubtedly hate the Macintosh. (And quite possibly they hate Mac–and Linux and BSD users–too.)
But *most* certainly don’t. Most Windows users have a distinctly disenchanted view of the OS they have to use–with good reason–and are far more likely to hate Windows than to hate the Mac.
Apple tracks your usage by your computers (sic) id number. (Mac OS X phones home quite regularly)
Utter bullshit!
=:~)
Most windows user has no clue there is another platform. Most don’t know there are other OS out there.
“[Macintoshes] are exposed in the same way Windows users are.”
This is not true. Macintoshes are more exposed because the vast majority of Macintoshes have NO virus detector installed, versus the almost total coverage for corporate PCs.
BTW I never feel hatred to Windows user. I don’t even hate Windows. I just find Windows annoying each time I have to use it because I know there is an easier way.
@SmartGuy
“Spam bots are desired by hackers in poor foriegn countries who sell them to marketeers. Mac’s hardly make a presence in poor countries, they are using pirated versions of Windows on homemade hardware.”
Get your facts correct: it’s been documented that approximately 1/3 of all spam originates from the US and is growing. It’s not poor foreign countries but industrialized countries that are having their PC’s taken over, plus the fact of the availability of broadband/always on connections.
You’re just spewing FUD that the M$ loving/Mac hating mindless zombies are re-spiting out.
BTW, hackers make money being able to get information from hundreds of computers, they’re not interested in getting john doe’s personal information one at a time.
Everything you’ve written is just plain FUD.