“Apple Mac users are still too lax when it comes to security matters, an independent researcher has said,” BBC News reports.
“Kevin Finisterre caused ripples in the Mac community when he started a website in January revealing a different bug in Apple systems each day of the month,” The Beeb reports.
“Apple makes great play of the fact that its OSX operating has yet to be attacked by a virus while Windows XP machines are plagued with problems. Its recent global campaign of adverts pitching Macs versus PCs has focused on security issues. XP machines are represented by a flu-ridden, sneezing individual while the Mac remains untouched by illness,” The Beeb reports.
Apple’s “Get a Mac” ad – Viruses:
The Beeb continues, “Many of the problems highlighted by Finisterre are security holes in applications, which are not related to viruses… [Finisterre] said the Month of Apple Bugs (MOAB) project had succeeded in its original aim of raising the level of awareness around Mac security… But Mac experts have pointed out that none of the exploits have ever successfully been used to hijack an Apple computer.”
“By contrast hundreds of thousands of Windows machines have been taken over as part of so-called bot nets, which use the hijacked machines to deliver millions of spam e-mails around the world,” The Beeb reports. “At the moment there are no plans for the MOAB website to continue.”
Full article here.
Glenn Fleishman reports for TidBITS, “Two hackers wanted to show the world that Apple’s much-vaunted operating system wasn’t as secure as it was cracked up to be. The Month of Apple Bugs (MoAB) ran from 01-Jan-07 to 31-Jan-07, with the final day promising a future serious bug. Instead, they may have turned the Mac smugness dial up a notch.”
“MoAB backers ‘LMH’ (who does not reveal his or her real name) and Kevin Finisterre appeared to want to tweak Mac users, who often revel in the so-far absence of attacks on Mac OS X that are plausible, persistent (not quickly patched), and spreadable. In particular, the pair appear to take issue with the zealots and ‘fanboys’ who, when presented with credible information that shows Apple or Mac OS X in a bad light, reject it out of hand. But lmh and Finisterre also seemed to have a chip on their shoulders before, during, and after MoAB,” Fleishman reports.
Fleishman reports, “it seems that MoAB may have unintentionally given more ammunition to the extremists in the Mac faith, while making the larger community even more blase. None of the bugs released had any real potential of a vector – spreading from computer to computer as a worm through an Internet- or LAN-exploitable flaw – and as far as I have seen, no in-the-wild exploit was released for any of the bugs, despite the fact that MoAB refused to notify Apple or third-party developers before releasing the bug details to the public.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Alex” and “Tim” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Bill Gates has lost his mind: calls Apple liars, copiers; slams Mac OS X security vs. Windows – February 02, 2007
Microsoft’s Windows Vista: Five years for a chrome-plated turd – January 30, 2007
McAfee: Microsoft ‘taking security risks’ with long-delayed, oft-pared-down Windows Vista – October 02, 2006
Why is Apple’s Mac OS X so much more secure than Microsoft’s Windows? – October 01, 2006
Apple Macs are far more secure than Windows PCs – September 26, 2006
$399 for Windows Vista Ultimate?! (Hint: Get a Mac) – August 29, 2006
Oxymoron: Microsoft security – August 12, 2006
With exploits in wild, Microsoft Windows braces for yet another critical worm attack – August 11, 2006
Symantec researcher: At this time, there are no file-infecting viruses that can infect Mac OS X – July 13, 2006
Sophos: Apple Mac OS X’s security record unscathed; Windows Vista malware just a matter of time – July 07, 2006
Sophos Security: Dump Windows, Get a Mac – July 05, 2006
Apple: ‘Get a Mac. Say ‘Buh-Bye’ to viruses’ – June 01, 2006
Symantec CEO: We think more people ought to buy Apple Macs – May 15, 2006
FBI: Viruses, spyware, other computer-related crimes cost U.S. businesses $67.2 billion per year – February 01, 2006
Security company Sophos: Apple Mac the best route for security for the masses – December 06, 2005
16-percent of computer users are unaffected by viruses, malware because they use Apple Macs – June 15, 2005
Jim: You’re making us Mac users look bad, you know that right? There was nothing wrong with this BBC article, in fact it was extremely well balanced and factual. Feel free to attack articles that contain just plain wrong information, but going after the BBC for a decent article like this, just proves to them that Mac users are zealots.
“Apple Mac users are still too lax when it comes to security matters”
People in lifestyles where HIV is rare don’t always use condoms.
People rarely wear hard hats when they work on their houses.
Few people wear life vests when they walk near water.
Now I have no doubt that the manufacturers of condoms, hard hats and life vests would argue that people should use their products under those circumstances, just as security companies argue that Mac users should run anti-viral software.
Current score card –
Number of OS X users saved from virus infection by A/V software : 0
Number of OS X users affected by flaws and errors in A/V software : tens of thousands
The cure has done more damage than the supposed disease.
Smugness level set to eleven. All ahead gloat. <– LOL
MOAB served its purpose: give Gates a comeback against Apple during the Vista launch. And he got one, seized it, and in heat, muttered that infamous quote that earned him sobriquet of “lying bast’rd”: “Not one day goes by….” So it seems, the MOAB campaign had something for everybody.
I have been using Macs for more than 20 years. I have never own a PC. That said, do I care that the BBC covers more Windows news then Mac OS X? I could not care less. The guy at the BBC is right, more people use Windows so more people are interested on Windows news. This fact has nothing to do with quality of the covered subject but a lot more with who is interested about it.
That’s right, after a “bug” a day for a month, there is still no real-world evidence of Mac OS X malware. Mac users are not “lax” on security. We just don’t think about it every minute we are using our computer, like Windows users. We think about getting our work (or play) done. All of these articles and “stunts” about Mac OS X security just prove how secure Mac OS X is compared to Windows (of any version). If all that hackers can do is “talk” about Mac OS X security, I am justified in being smug.
If there are all of those “known” security holes in OS X just sitting there to be exploited, why hasn’t some one done it? They’ve had five years, and simple logic suggests that every patch makes it even less likely to happen. If the holes are known/located, then that is half or three-quarters of what’s needed to cause problems-and would garner world wide headlines to the one who did it.
I simply do not believe every hacker is just in for the money is simply false. Do it, then talk about. granted, No system, or OS is fool proof, but to suggest Apple is a sitting duck is the height of ignorance.
@ clyde
I think that’s a great idea for an ad. I would love to see one like that.
And so is my grammer/punctuation.
So Jim is making us Mac users look bad is he? I don’t think so.
Firstly, I would expect your email address to come up as darrenwaters@bbc.co.uk (or similar).
Secondly, he is quite right to say what he has. The BBC online site is always looking for Apple news of a negative nature, we all know that, there’s plenty of evidence.
The bottom line is that the BBC should not be promoting Finnister and MOAB, he’s a troublmaking huckster with a large chip on his shoulder who has done nothing worthwhile here. If he had, you wouldn’t be reporting on it because the flaws would have been fixed without us knowing about them.
Let’s say the BBC were to discover that BMW came out with a car that was fast, safe, cheaper to operate, and cost no more then similarly equipped cars from its competitors. Do you really think they would limit the coverage because BMW held such a small fraction of the world car market?
pog,
I don’t need to make Mac users look bad, the BBC are doing a fine job of that all by themselves.
I do object to being brushed off with meaningless statistics. If statistics and figures are important, why don’t they just review McDonalds restaurants in food reviews, after all, they’re the most popular restaurant in the world, right?
The point is, the BBC are always anti-apple, and as a licence payer I have the right to object to my money being wasted by amateur hacks like Darren Waters who believe the MOAB posed a threat to the security of OS X.
10 pound of hogwash in a 5 pound bag.
NEXT!
MOAB bugs were bugs though. The BBC article pointed out they couldn’t be used for remote exploits or viruses, but that doesn’t mean that the MOAB stuff wasn’t actual security flaws.
As far as I can tell your main beef is that the article was written at all. I can’t see how you can have a beef with the contents, which was entirely fair.
Something tells me you need to remove that chip off your shoulder.
“Firstly, I would expect your email address to come up as darrenwaters@bbc.co.uk (or similar).”
Wow, you’re an idiot.
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I’m a US based reader with 5 Macs to my name, actually.
Ten years, ten Macs…no virus programs…and counting. Do I need extra security? To date…NO!
I bet M$ has a secret company trying to write viruses for the Mac.
My machine is still purring along. What about my lax security?
-c
Doesn’t anyone want to crack my box?
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-c
No need to worry about security – my Mac is immune from malware. Nope, I never even consider it.
And I speak for all Mac users everywhere.
http://www.crazyapplerumors.com/?p=664
I work at a mental health agency that is 100% Windows (argh), and this morning our lovely (sarcasm) Dells were
running as if 90 weight gear oil had been poured into their CPUs, when one of my co-workers mentioned she had
just purchased a new computer with Vista installed. Without any prodding by me, she said, “How can I get this
Vista thing off my computer–it constantly is asking for permission to do just about anything?” To which, I nearly
doubled over laughing.
Yes, I think the latest Mac ads are going to strike a chord with the folks who have ventured into MS’s new vista.
Listen Everyone.
This is our greatest opportunity to make ourselves heard at senior levels of the BBC.
Use this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/make_complaint_step1.shtml to make a reasoned complaint – avoid nasty comments and just stick to the facts. Express your disappointment that the journalistic integrity of the BBC appears to have been damaged by a commercial agreement with Microsoft. Insist on a reply and then reply to the reply (you will have to post your reply through the website and again insist on a reply).
If we can show the BBC that the apple community is outraged by their biased reporting they just might change their tune.
By the way, if they refer you to a video of a viewer complaints programme about the Vista infomercial, you will find it is only playable on Windows Media Player or RealPlayer. No Quicktime…
Lets wake them up…
Yay, Canada!
Home of the … uh…
Yeah, well.
zzzzz
Sorry, that was directed at Buster.
My complaint to the BBC:
This is my fourth complaint in a short time about bias at the BBC in its tech reporting. Apple users worldwide are watching with disbelief as the BBC discards its journalistic integrity, apparently in order to fulfil its commercial obligations to Microsoft.
The BBC News piece which warned about lax security by Apple mac users is in fact old news, debunked some time ago as unsubstantitated nonsense. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6378541.stm
It remains true today that there is NOT A SINGLE REPORT of the successful hijacking of an Apple Mac by a remote user, application, worm or virus.
Millions of Mac users connect to the internet, as I do, WITH NO ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE AT ALL.
I switched to Apple 2 years ago. I have 30 years in the IT industry and have worked on platforms from many of the major vendors including IBM, Wang, Unisys and others. I am a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, a programmer and the owner of a business which runs 8 Windows servers and a mix of Windows and Mac clients.
I KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT.
Sadly, the BBC does not. It is either appalling journalism or deliberate marketing support for Microsoft.
Nothing is ever totally secure. But your article suggests that Apple Macs are really no better than Windows when it comes to security.
It has not escaped my attention that this follows hot on the heels of what is probably the most damning of the Mac versus PC ads – the one on security.
Now whether you think you are right or wrong, you need to understand that if you lose credibility in the Mac user community, YOU WILL NEVER RECOVER IT.
And the Mac community is growing at a startling rate.
I would say that it is likely that I have more relevant experience on this subject than any of your tech writers. I have even been asked to contribute regularly to a column. And from where I sit, the Beeb looks both wrong-headed and wrong-footed.
Your commercial arrangemenrt with Microsoft is damaging your reputation. Your sloppy and biased journalism is doing the same.
Apple marketshare will continue to grow at a phenomenal rate. Not just because Apple are proving that they can execute brilliant strategy across a wide range of product fronts simultaneously, but because Microsoft are demonstrating the exact opposite.
By the time the Beeb wakes up to this, the world will have decided you are no more authoritative than Murdoch’s Fox.
And that will be a sad day for the BBC and for the reputation of independent, well researched British jourmalism.
CrissyOne, if you’re as cute as you sound, I’d love to take you up on the box cracking. However, I don’t think my wife would approve.
Dear BBC.
Ahem. Its about your commercial relationship with Microsoft…
You are coming to a sad realisation.
Cancel or Allow…
I also made a suggestion to the BBC:
The BBC’s unfortunate commercial arrangement with Microsoft has created the impression that influence peddling is at work within the hallowed halls of the BBC. It may be, of course, that this agreement is just drawing attention to sloppy journalism and poor research among the BBCs tech writers. It matters not which is true. It is the alarmingly growing perception of bias that is the the issue at stake. The BBC needs to withdraw from any commercial arrangement with Microsoft immediately. if this is not possible for contractual reasons, then the BBC needs to immediately outsource all tech reporting to an independent body which will withstand the close scrutiny of those of us who work in the tech sector and are better informed than your journalists appear to be. The reputation of the BBC is at stake. Which appals me. And should appal anyone with any regard for your august organisation.
You can make a suggestion or complaint by going here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/make_complaint_step1.shtml
Insist on a response.
Go to it. Even if it is just a short “Why is the BBC promoting Microsoft and denigrating Apple?”
The more the merrier. Don’t let them get away with it.
Be an Apple Militant!!
ps: keep the link. I am sure you are going to need it again!