Apple Accepts Mac’s Vulnerability to Malware

Security company 'SecureMac' reports that Apple has eventually admitted that viruses and spyware pose a threat to Mac OS X and to its most recent operating system 'Snow Leopard.'

According to Apple, Snow Leopard is being designed to add new mechanism that would facilitate in protecting against attacks like phishing and sandboxing in Safari. However, this technology isn't a complete anti-malware solution.

Apple claimed on its official website that Mac had built-in technologies, which helped to protect from malicious software as well as other security threats. Since computer systems were not cent percent immune from attacks, antivirus software might be deployed for additional protection, Apple suggested.

Responding to Apple's statement, SecureMac said that they appreciated Apple for acknowledging the fact that Mac was not immune to malware attacks. This statement contradicted Apple's TV advertisements that criticized their counterparts by claiming that Macs were totally safe. Nevertheless, it was vital that one should realize that the new mechanisms built into the operating software wouldn't safeguard from all attacks, SecureMac added.

Elucidating on the Mac issue, Graham Cluley, Senior Technology Consultant, Sophos, an online security company, said that although there were fewer malware threats targeting Mac OS X in comparison to Windows, it wouldn't prove any consolation if someone's glittering new Mac book got infected, as reported by SCMagazine on June 11, 2009. Cluley added that many people associated with Mac had been avoiding for a long time to acknowledge the true nature of the problem.

Moreover, Cluley further said that there was a growing trend of hackers employing social engineering tactics such as suggesting surfers that it was necessary to download a plug-in from the Internet to play a movie on their Mac, and who in that pretext gained entry into the victims' computers. Cluley added that some users of Mac might have assumed it safe to browse for porn on their Mac, but that was not correct.

Hence, the security specialists recommend that Apple users deploy multiple antivirus solutions for stronger defense against viruses so that these malicious programs are forced to circumvent beyond a single defense application.

Related article: Apple Patches QuickTime 13 Month Old Flaw

» SPAMfighter News - 6/19/2009