Security threats to PCs with Microsoft Windows have increased so much that computer users should consider using a Mac, says Sophos Security.
“‘It seems likely that Macs will continue to be the safer place for computer users for some time to come,’ said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. ‘[That is] something that home users may wish to consider if they’re deliberating about the next computer they should purchase,’ he added,” BBC News reports.
BBC News reports, “But Brian Gammage, an analyst at Gartner research does not believe the advice is well founded. The number of people using Macs is far less than those using Window’s based PCs, he said. ‘If you have smaller walls, you attract less graffiti,’ he said. ‘There is nothing architecturally safer about Macs. If everyone moved to them then the situation would change overnight.'”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “M.X.N.T.4.1” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: Who the hell is Brian Gammage? His initials are B. G., but “B. S.” might be more appropriate. A Gartner “analyst” for the last six years and former Account Director for Hewlett-Packard does not a security expert make. For some reason, Gartner seems to see no conflict having him participate in a US$295 research report titled, “Vendor Rating: Hewlett-Packard” (26 July 2005) and, while we do find some old articles with Gammage’s name attached about Windows PC security (or lack thereof) in Gartner’s online archives, we cannot find a single article that shows Gammage has any expertise with or any knowledge at all pertaining to Mac OS X security.
“Security via Obscurity” is a myth. Frankly, we thought we’d heard the last of it by now. But, here we go again: Mac OS X has zero (0) viruses. For over five years and counting. No Mac OS X users affected outside of a lab with old, non-updated Mac OS versions that they intentionally infected. Some in the press, maybe even some Gartner analysts, love to think “Mac OS X has viruses, too,” but they’re dreaming. It’s simply not true.
The BBC should pull that quote due to stupidity alone. Why is Brian Gammage being asked a Mac OS X security question by the BBC? What proof, truth, or research are Gammage’s statements based upon?
The idea that Windows’ morass of security woes exists because more people use Windows and that Macs have no security problems because less people use Macs, is simply not true. Mac OS X is not more secure than Windows because less people use OS X, making it less of a target. By design, Mac OS X is simply more secure than Windows. Period. For reference and reasons why Mac OS X is more secure than Windows, read The New York Times’ David Pogue’s mea culpa on the subject of the “Mac Security Via Obscurity” myth here.
Macs account for roughly 10% of the world’s personal computer users — (some say as much as 16%) — so the first half of the myth doesn’t even stand up to scrutiny. Macs aren’t “obscure” at all. Therefore, the Apple Mac platform’s ironclad security simply cannot logically be attributed to obscurity.
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.” 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.
Still not convinced? Try this one on for size: according to Apple last July, there were “close to 16 million Mac OS X users” in the world (even more today one year later) and there are still zero (0) viruses. According to CNET, the Windows Vista Beta was released “to about 10,000 testers” at the time the first Windows Vista virus arrived. So much for the security via obscurity myth.
Contact the BBC via their online feedback form here.
From Apple eNews, June 1, 2006:
It’s really sad that so many people have to be wary about opening email, visiting websites, chatting with presumed “buddies,” or downloading music, photos, movies or other files over the Internet.
No one should have to zealously guard their computers against spyware, viruses, trojan horses, or various other types of malware. Or run a bewildering assortment of (quickly obsolete) virus-protection apps. And no one should have to run a computer to a nearby computer store, so it can be “cleaned” on a routine basis.
Do you know why people put up with that? If their cars didn’t drive where they wanted to go; their TVs didn’t play what they wanted to watch; or their phones didn’t connect to the party they called, how long would they keep using them?
Apple provides more info online about Mac’s lack of viruses here.
By the end of 2005, there were 114,000 known viruses for PCs. In March 2006 alone, there were 850 new threats detected against Windows. Zero for Mac. While no computer connected to the Internet will ever be 100% immune from attack, Mac OS X has helped the Mac keep its clean bill of health with a superior UNIX foundation and security features that go above and beyond the norm for PCs. When you get a Mac, only your enthusiasm is contagious. – Apple’s “114,000 viruses? Not on a Mac.” webpage.
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Related MacDailyNews articles:
Sophos Security: Dump Windows, Get a Mac – July 05, 2006
Apple: ‘Get a Mac. Say ‘Buh-Bye’ to viruses’ – June 01, 2006
Apple Macs and viruses: Fact vs. FUD – May 26, 2006
Mossberg: Is there a virus threat for Apple Macs? – May 11, 2006
BusinessWeek columnist propagates discounted ‘Apple Mac security via obscurity myth’ – September 06, 2005
Hackers already targeting viruses for Microsoft’s Windows Vista – August 04, 2005
16-percent of computer users are unaffected by viruses, malware because they use Apple Macs – June 15, 2005
ZDNet: How many Mac OS X users affected by the last 100 viruses? None, zero, not one, not ever – August 18, 2005
Intel CEO Otellini: If you want security now, buy a Macintosh instead of a Wintel PC – May 25, 2005
Apple touts Mac OS X security advantages over Windows – April 13, 2005
97,467 Microsoft Windows viruses vs. zero for Apple Mac’s OS X – April 05, 2005
Apple’s Mac OS X is virus-free – March 18, 2005
Cybersecurity advisor Clarke questions why anybody would buy from Microsoft – February 18, 2005
Security test: Windows XP system easily compromised while Apple’s Mac OS X stands safe and secure – November 30, 2004
Microsoft: The safest way to run Windows is on your Mac – October 08, 2004
Information Security Investigator says switch from Windows to Mac OS X for security – September 24, 2004
Defending Windows over Mac a sign of mental illness – December 20, 2003
Columnist tries the ‘security through obscurity’ myth to defend Windows vs. Macs on virus front – October 1, 2003
New York Times: Mac OS X ‘much more secure than Windows XP’ – September 18, 2003
Fortune columnist: ‘get a Mac’ to thwart viruses; right answer for the wrong reasons – September 02, 2003
Shattering the Mac OS X ‘security through obscurity’ myth – August 28, 2003
Virus and worm problems not just due to market share; Windows inherently insecure vs. Mac OS X – August 24, 2003
‘Dirty Pierre le Punk’ and ‘Judge Bork’ Really? That’s a Roman numeral is it? I am amazed and enlightened, you guys are so knowledgeable and clever. So that’s what “X” followed 9!
I going to tell everyone I know that two posters on the interweb said “stop saying OSX” and have even linked to a website that says “OS Ten” — SO IT MUST BE TRUE, AND WE MUST ALL OBEY THEM.
Next you’ll be saying it’s “I pod” and not “ip od”
‘If you have smaller walls, you attract less graffiti,’ he said.
This guy obviously has no clue what he’s talking about.
This story was originally commented on yesterday on Macworld UK’s forum
At that time, readers made favourable comments about how it was unusual that the BBC reported such a story without slipping in a few negative comments.
The story as it now exists is timed at 07:20, 6 July, the first comments on the MW forum was timed at 01:14, 5 July.
It would appear that the original story has since been edited to include negative speculative comments.
It makes you wonder ………
sent them this:
Brian Gammage DOESNT KNOW WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT! Have him proove his opinion.. oh he cant.. I can proove that my mac Hasnt had a single virus or peice of spyware in over 3 years. The hacker community is trying hard to crack viruses into OSX, its prettymuch bulletproof and thats not going to change when 99% of the world is using them. It seems people NEED to defend their infected screwed up comptuers; I dont understand it. Gertner research is a bunch of BS, their skewed opinions are invalid due to their business partnerships with PC companies.
“Secondly, the correct acronym is POHM derived from Prisoner Of His(Her) Majesty.”
Snopes, a highly respected urban-myth investigative site, shoots that down in flames.
MDN: “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.”
That’s B.S. and your own story on web browser share proves it. Why is Mac browser share less than 4 percent? Shouldn’t it be 10-16%, especially since OS security is not a factor in whether one uses a browser?
I believe that OS X is more secure than Windows, but it isn’t immune. Analogy: Ten people are giving away $1000 to anyone who asks. Nine of them have an email address that you send your bank account number to and the deposit is automatic. The tenth one requires you to show up in person with 2 forms of ID to get your money. Do you think that #10 will give away ten percent of the money? No way–probably very little if any. Does that mean there is no way to get money from #10? No.
dennis… shutup..
Another Analist typing through his ass not having a clue of the facts. What more is there to say than that. You guys keep denying what is so obviously not true anymore. After 6 years if viruses were easy to create and distribute on OSX it would have been done already. The fact remains that OSX security if far beyond XP or Vista period and that’s why there are know viruses on the Mac.
A Trojan Horse is not, in and of itself, a virus. It may contain a virus in its payload. It’s unfortunate that Websters Dictionary Student Edition has it wrong.
tt,
Sending them a missive full of spelling, grammar, punctuation and syntax errors is really going to get your point across all right.
On the other hand, it is ‘The New’ BBC.
Dennis: Web browser statistics prove absolutely nothing about market share. You make several assumptions, none of which are true:
1) That every computer sold will be connected to the InterNet
2) That every computer will be used to surf the web via a browser
3) That every browser used will be the default browser
4) That browser spoofing will never be used
5) That all browsing is uniform & even (i.e. everybody uses the web to the same degree and in equal amounts, and all visit the same test sites equally)
The beeb has frequently been somewhat Mac dismissive. Seems to come and go with them. I dunno .. give ’em a few more years, I guess. They’ll prolly come around when they see some advantage to it. Just like everybody else. heh.
I stand corrected
“Security via Obscurity” is NOT a myth. It’s just a added temporary benefit to having only 4% of the market.
OS X has both, incredible security and the inability to be attacked in a group dynamic.
Apple pretty much rocks.
There are so many computer hackers that think Mac Fan-boys are a bunch of a–holes, that if they could crack a Mac and write a virus, they would do it in a heartbeat. Saying there are no Mac viruses is because of lack of market share is just plain *%^&*% STUPID!!!
What does Active-X actually do for people? Since moving to a Mac I honestly have to say I haven’t noticed any time when I’ve not been able to do something because of it.