Mac Users Should Tighten on Security

Users of Mac OS X continue to lack in adequate security measures but Apple is gearing up to improve on it, said independent researcher Kevin Finisterre, one of the researchers responsible to write the Month of Apple Bugs (MoAB) project.

The BBC has dashed down Mac users for not being amply alert about security as is evident from Finisterre's successful identification of some bugs in the OS and some other Mac applications.

In January, Finisterre started a project that revealed a separate bug in Apple systems for everyday of the month. Finisterre said one of the main reasons for launching this project was Mac users' complacency with respect to OS security.

Finsiterre believes there is no room for feeling superior with Mac OS over its other counterparts rather it is needed to regard online threats seriously.

After Finisterre pointed out the security flaws in Mac applications on his MoAB website, he said some of the Mac community initially avoided him. But he proved himself right when Apple inspected many of its products encouraged by the MoAB campaign.

Finisterre says he keeps a regular touch with Apple engineers. This positive interaction with the company and using the strength of the Internet to highlight issues quickly is the success behind making Apple active. It has reversed Apple's general tendency to stay quiet when there is no new product launch.

Finisterre confirmed that the MoAB project was successful in raising the degree of awareness relating to Mac security.

According to Mac experts, there has not been any successful exploit of the security holes to hack an Apple PC. By contrast there has been several take over by Windows computers to convert them to botnets i.e., hijacking PCs to send out bulk spam mails all over the world.

In light of this argument Macs are significantly less susceptible to attacks than their counterparts. However, Mr. Finisterre has cautioned Mac users to get answers to the right questions when purchasing their systems. He said he hoped people would understand the point that there are indeed certain issues under the OSX label that calls for closer look.

Related article: Mac OS X Devoid of Malware, Vexing Experts

» SPAMfighter News - 3/5/2007