Surge In Mac Users Bad For Security?

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Can the recent surge in people using a Mac, up from 3% to 6%, make them a target for hackers? The author of this editorial seems to think that, while the number of Mac users is still too low to make them a “demographic worth targeting”, the upswing in Mac users could eventually make them a target.

According to web metric analysts WebSideStory and Net Applications, the number of people surfing the web in the US on a Mac doubled over the past eight months. This represents an increase from a long-term flat-line of about 3% to around 6%. Switching from the PowerPC to Intel CPUs has been good to Apple.
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Of course we'll see more vulnerabilities exploited in the Mac OS. There are plenty of hackers and virus writers out there that would love to prove Apple wrong about how 'secure' their computers are. Right now with certain apps, you can just walk right into an OSX environment since they have very little security. There are loopholes in the OS that people don't even know about. I know for a fact we didn't have any problem changing our grades remotely back in middle school when all their computers were G3's. :D
 
After OSX finally came out, the market share of macs eventually doubled. By the "logic" in the article, you would think that this would cause an increase in virus attacks. Googling "mac osx virus" gives hits like "are osx virus a reality?" while "mac os9 virus" gives hits like "Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10 ReadMe for Mac OS 9".

I understand that anyone who insists that windows is the only possible os you can use just doesn't get that is possible to begin to secure a system. It appears that Apple has done so (I don't use macs, so don't ask me). This has been a tired refrain from the windows crowd that seems to think that all software had to be made with the same decisions that their own stuff was made. It is not. The problem with windows is that it requires promiscuous execution as a default, and that it tries to plug every hole in the sieve as they appear on the evening news. The reason for this is that backward compatibility is far too valuable both to their customers (who don't care about security anyways, otherwise they would have run in terror long ago), and in continued lock-in.

I suppose that this appears to be the wrong place for an anti-windows (not anti-MS, I've mentioned that bad windows security is the right decision for them), but the assumptions made in the original article require you to first drink the windows kool-aid.

Wumpus
 
I have been studying computer security for the better part of 6 years (Masters in 2 days!!! woot!) And I still can't figure out where this perception that popularity is directly related to security idea came from. The industry has gone "balls to the walls" on OSX many many times, just as it has on BSD, Linux, and the Unix derivs. If you want to find good security evals look no further than the likes of H.D. Moore, Dave Aitel, and Litchfield. These are the guys to watch for security developments, NOT the people peddling adware. I have analyzed countless adware binaries and have seen less than two that could pass for "elegant."

More people using Macs DOES NOT equate to more vulnerabilities, and arguing "more viruses" is just shooting a dead horse and claiming kills.

As was mentioned above, security can never be a "feature."

And why is OSX getting a "security" pat on the back? If anyone should be getting the pats its the BSD guys (both net and free).
 
It'll just keep Apple and us Mac users honest, but I dread the day I'll have to buy a malware removal program.
 
This is just Microsoft cheerleaders/Mac haters wishful thinking. They've been jumping all over every bullshit article written by halfwits that has Mac and Virus in it. Either do it and make a spreadable virus or shut yer hole. Seems like all the people who hate Mac Zealots are just Zealots themselves and rub their hands together like little children saying 'any day now!" :rolleyes:
 
Nasty_Savage said:
This is just Microsoft cheerleaders/Mac haters wishful thinking. They've been jumping all over every bullshit article written by halfwits that has Mac and Virus in it. Either do it and make a spreadable virus or shut yer hole. Seems like all the people who hate Mac Zealots are just Zealots themselves and rub their hands together like little children saying 'any day now!" :rolleyes:
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I don't think it's that. It's just Mac User's attitude towards a PC. I've seen this a lot how many Mac user argue that they never have any problem with Mac's and so forth. Just look at the Mac vs PC commercials. It's like Oracle vs MSSQL; Firefox vs Internet Explorer and the list goes on. I'm sorry but Apple takes the fun out of computing. A computer should be more like a PC so everyone can use it's structure to make whatever they want with it and not limited to a only using Apple's hardware and software. We all benefit from a problem to build newer technology. There's never a perfect anything in technology. I'm pretty sure that Mac OS has benefitted greatly from all the security problems they have with PCs.
 
My DOS machine has good security. it doesn't have a Netwurk Interface Card so you can't steal my DBase records. Pwnz0rs.
 
Going from a 3% to 6% market share is hardly going to change the way the malware writers conduct their "business practices." They are going to target the largest group that they can hit, since that's where they're more likely to find viable targets.

Any OS / browser is going to have security flaws in it. The fact that Apple still only has a 6% share is why almost all malware programmers are going to ignore them, since they aren't worth the time.

If Apple managed to gain a more significant foothold in the market, then rest assured, you'd definitely see more malware written for Apple computers.

Here's a shabby comparison that my caffeine-starved mind just came up with: PC users can be compared to those who live in sunny climates (let's call them the majority of the population), and that they are going to get sunburnt, while enjoying the sunshine, if they don't use sunblock.

Apple users can be compared to people who live in continually rainy climates, and say "I don't need sunblock, because I don't get sunburnt" because they almost never see the sunlight. If they were to go out into the sunlight, they would get sunburnt like anyone else.
 
Unabomber said:
Here's a shabby comparison that my caffeine-starved mind just came up with: PC users can be compared to those who live in sunny climates (let's call them the majority of the population), and that they are going to get sunburnt, while enjoying the sunshine, if they don't use sunblock.

Apple users can be compared to people who live in continually rainy climates, and say "I don't need sunblock, because I don't get sunburnt" because they almost never see the sunlight. If they were to go out into the sunlight, they would get sunburnt like anyone else.
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That's a not a shabby analogy :)
 
LANm0nk3y said:
I don't think it's that. It's just Mac User's attitude towards a PC. I've seen this a lot how many Mac user argue that they never have any problem with Mac's and so forth. Just look at the Mac vs PC commercials. It's like Oracle vs MSSQL; Firefox vs Internet Explorer and the list goes on. I'm sorry but Apple takes the fun out of computing. A computer should be more like a PC so everyone can use it's structure to make whatever they want with it and not limited to a only using Apple's hardware and software. We all benefit from a problem to build newer technology. There's never a perfect anything in technology. I'm pretty sure that Mac OS has benefitted greatly from all the security problems they have with PCs.
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You DO realize that theres plenty of non Apple software for the mac right, including a healthy freeware scene.
 
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