“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
I often feel embarrassed to be a Mac user when I see what some of my fellow Mac fans write. Some people seem to be so paranoid that they see conspiracy and bias everywhere.
I’ve read the BBC article and found it balanced. I don’t feel the need to dash off a complaint. On the page there is even a picture of a Macbook with the words “Apple OSX has proved far more robust than Windows” underneath.
I don’t get hung up on whether the BBC is reporting positive or negative stories about Apple products. They always cover interesting new releases from Apple, from iPods to iTV/AppleTV to Macs and they don’t slant them againt Apple, they just report the news. Certain people forget what could be called positive Apple or Mac articles and just remember the ones they choose to interpret as negative.
Yes the BBC does get some Mac information wrong and I’ve been one of those who has pointed it out to them. I’ve been surprised how soon they’ve responded to me, thanking me for my feedback and informing me that they’ve updated the artice accordingly. I don’t think many news organisations would be so responsive.
One thing I would critise the BBC for is the recent Vista coverage, particularly the Money Programme which did seem a bit over the top and rather like a big free advert for MS. The reality is that Windows pretty much runs the world so it unfortunately warrants more coverage than an OSX release, but it could be argued that statistically OSX gets more coverage than it should. It has been quite a delight to see Bill squirm when Vista is compared to OSX.
As for the MS aggreement that’s often mentioned, I’m not too surprised that he hasn’t heard of it because there is no big conspiracy where every BBC employee has been informed about it and instructed to promote MS. I believe the agreement is a non-exclusive one so they are not tied to MS. They can and do have deals with many companies. Certain members of the Mac community just get their knickers in a twist when they see an MS deal mentioned.
There is one positive aspect to all this paranoia. It gets lots of Mac users trawling the BBC site looking for bias and this will surely register in the site traffic stats. Having lots of Mac visitors will mean that the BBC will be well aware that there’s plenty of us out there so they best not start doing something that’s just for Windows.
Some people really need to get a life and stop giving Mac users a bad name. It’s quite funny that the article is about security when it’s some apparently insecure Mac users who have a problem with it.
@AJK
Nicely reasoned response.
However, I think the problem starts with the headline – and then the article never recovers from there.
Firstly, the security, or lack of it, of Windows is THE major issue of the day for anyone connecting to the net. Apple are able to make much of this because there is a VAST difference in the security issues faced by Windows and Mac users. And Apple ARE making much of this – the Security Mac/PC ad is the most hard hitting and one of the best yet.
The headline suggests that Mac users should be doing something different about security – and implies that Mac users are courting danger because they do not worry about security. This is misleading. And wrong. When i switched to Mac 2 years ago i bought a copy of Symantec NAV for Mac. I ran it for a year until the automatic notification came up to say my licence had expired. I pushed the button to run the report – which was that ZERO viruses had been detected and ZERO anything else had been detected. I trashed the application and have not bothered since.
Mac users are not being careless or foolish. Until there is a credible threat then how do we know how to respond? What is the point of running an antivirus programme which NEVER finds a virus?
The headline should have said: “Mac users continue to connect to the net without fear of security issues and without any evidence of any real threat.” If the author then thought that, on balance, this might not be sensible then he could have made suggestions as to the appropriate path to take to improve Mac security.
But there simply is no threat today. And without a threat there are no solutions. So there is nothing we CAN do.
If you are told that a neighbouring country might have a secret weapon which they might aim at you and which might cause some unspecified harm, what would you do as your country’s defence chief to respond to that threat?
The BBC has engaged in sloppy journalism, sensationalist journalism and quite blatant pro-Microsoft journalism. The latter has created a storm of protest across the UK which the BBC have aired as part of their feedback programming. The airing is admirable, but far better that they had avoided the protest in the first place.
Having focused the attention of the Mac community, the BBC can expect more protests. But remember that this is an organisation that has always stood for journalistic integrity.
Reputation is a fragile thing. The BBC should take care they do not lose it before they wake up to what they are doing…
What a joke, we make a consious decision to use a secure safe Os, and WE are the ones that are ‘lax’???
I would say EVERY windows user on the planet, even the smart safe ones that say they ‘NEVER’ have any problems with windows are the ones that are LAX on security… doesnt matter what anti virus BS you are running, you are LAX BITCH!!