With the good news of Apple products gaining mainstream popularity and acceptance comes the bad news that seems to occur whenever something cool becomes really, really popular. Just like back in high school, when those annoying “posers” started repping your favorite underground band, or when the hipsters took over your favorite nightspot, we privileged Mac users must now deal with unwanted attention from hackers.
One of the nicest benefits of being a Mac user has always been the relative lack of viruses and malware available for Mac. While some tout the architecture of the Mac OS as the reason behind the lack of viruses, others believe it simply to be a matter of numbers. Why make a virus that will only infect a miniscule percentage of PC users when you could go for the other 90% with a Windows virus? While many of you may think the “more marketshare = more vulnerabilities” theorem is merely FUD, there may be some credence to it. After all, as more and more malicious folk begin to poke around for exploits, the chances of one being found increase, do they not?
According to a Yahoo! News report hackers are indeed taking increasing aim at iPhones and Macs alike. Zero Day Initiative security vulnerability analyst Cameron Hotchkies notes that with Apple’s newfound mainstream popularity, “there are more eyes looking over Apple products for vulnerabilities”.
While I’m not exactly springing for the McAfee Virus Protection software just yet, this may be an increasing concern as Mac usage continues to grow. Let’s hope Apple can keep up with what the bad guys start to throw at it.
I am very disappointed to see you say "the main reason has simply been a matter of numbers". This is simply FUD. There are numerous articles out there that do a very good job of disproving this bullshit claim.
Here's a nice piece by John Gruber, and a followup.
I have been hearing this same story for years now. At what point do people give up on the Security by Obscurity theory?
Is it only after Mac market share is great than Windows (may never happen)?
Seriously, until there is an in-the-wild virus or worm (or ???) for the Mac, then I don't believe a word of articles like this.
I concur with the comment above. Sounds like your PCW overlords are exerting quite the influence on the Mac desk. I gave up my subscription to my Macworld a long time ago because I got tired of them shilling the same crap.
It's one thing to report actual industry news, but to reinforce ignorant perceptions like that is just plain lazy.
Exactly. This is pure FUD. YAWN. You guys let me know when any of these so-called 'hackers" are able to do something to my Mac without physically sitting in front of it with my admin password.
Honestly, spreading the fear like this. It's ridiculous. Instead of giving idiotic articles from fame-seeking shills at Yahoo credence, why not just debunk it instead? It's real easy.
There has never been a successful virus for Mac OS X in the wild.
Any hacker would LOVE to be the first one to accomplish this.
Security by obscurity is a myth. There are millions of Macs and NO viruses. David Dahlquist is wrong. Do your research, Mr. Dahlquist!
I've been seeing this bollocks scaremongering since 2001, with almost the same exact wording.Always with the same "Mac gains popularity: viruses now inevitable" motif.
I thought 7 years of being wrong would dent the confidence of those who write this nonsense. I was wrong.
DOOOOOOOOOM!
GLOOOOOOOOM!
God, wake me up when something really happens, ok? Until then, I don't take any FUD.
Okay okay already, I'll change my wording so it doesn't sound so darn FUDy. Sure OS X is a lot more secure than any Windows OS, but I don't think any OS is 100% free of exploits or potential for virus. Maybe it's just my PC roots talking, but the basic idea that as something gains higher market share, more people are going to gun for it, and the more people who gun for something, the higher the chance that someone succeeds at it, sounds right to me. Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the OS X is completely virus/exploit proof. In that case, ya got me :P
Colonel Tom Edwards: This is the most fantastic story I've ever heard.
Jeff Trent: And every word of it's true, too.
Colonel Tom Edwards: That's the fantastic part of it.
Holy hell! What's with all the apologists in the comments?
OS X /will/ be hacked through social engineering and security loopholes. There is no point in refuting this.
David: The point is it's been SEVEN YEARS. Don't you think if it were possible for somebody to create a virus and set it loose on the Mac, somebody would have done it by now? Anybody? Even one person?
Did you miss all the hoopla back when somebody "found" a hole in the Mac in 2 minutes flat? It was the talk of the internet wasn't it? You know why? The Mac is the HOLY GRAIL for hackers. They would like nothing better than to shove it in Job's smug face.
You cannot seriously tell me that the Mac is not a target for hackers. They would LOVE to crack the Mac. But they can't, at least not without actually sitting in front of it, admin password in hand.
It is NOT security through obscurity. The Apple brand is one of the most recognizable in the entire world, on what planet would that be considered "obscure"? Hackers would love nothing more than to hack the Mac to pieces. But they can't, and it's not because of any sort of imagined obscurity.
To bailey: OS X will be hacked, blah blah blah. People have been saying that for 7 years. It's time to put up or shut up. As of right now, nobody can get through Apple's default security settings remotely. That's all there is to it. Every instance of somebody discovering a security hole and showing a proof of concept trojan has been done by somebody sitting in front of a Mac with the local admin password handy.
Last time I checked, viruses don't sit in front of your Mac with your admin password in hand. This isn't an apology for Apple, this is the cold hard truth. Deal with it.
yes... one day... and that day may never come... until that day * Take that Windows!!
Yeah, this "smaller target" argument is getting really, really old. How come the only time there WERE actually any Mac OS viruses was back in the days of OS 8 and OS 9, when Apple's market share and installed base were at their absolute nadir? Kind of disproves that whole concept right there, doesn't it? And yet the MS shills are still spreading the same FUD. Sure, it may be POSSIBLE to write a virus that affects OS X (or any UNIX-based OS,) but the simple fact is, it hasn't happened yet. The point people miss is that 99.9999% of the twerps who write Windows viruses are not exactly genius hackers. There are several do-it-yourself virus kits out there on the internet; they simply use them and make their own little contribution to the misery of the Windows world. (It makes them feel better that their parents' basement doesn't have any windows!) Meanwhile, as Xaqtly says, the REAL genius hackers are doing their damndest to crack OS X, with no luck so far. (Trojans that you have to download and install, that can't spread to any other computers, don't count! And contributing to the headline-grabbing announcements that trade on the general population not knowing the difference is true FUD!)