Interest in Attacking the Mac on the Rise (Friday Finds 01/23/2009)
It seemed laughable when Bill Gates first said that the Windows platform was more secure because it was under constant attack from hackers and therefore needed constant security updating (I’m paraphrasing of course). Over time, however, “tech authorities” have legitimized Gates’ statement by saying that hackers spend more time attacking Windows because it’s the most popular computer operating system. Basically why bother trying to exploit the Macintosh when it accounts for less than 10% of the computer population?
Whether you agree or disagree with that logic makes no difference. The Macintosh now represents over 10% of the computing population and is starting to feel the pains of its rising popularity. You can see evidence of these pains in the recent articles shown below. Again, whether you agree that these articles document “real” Macintosh attacks makes no difference. The conclusion one can draw is simple: the Macintosh is gaining market share and therefore has become an area of interest for hackers. Will the hackers get very far on a platform that has touted itself as “more secure?” Only time will tell. Personally, I’m betting on the hackers.
ArsTechnica: Newly-discovered Mac exploit to be Detailed at Black Hat
CNet News: Trojan found in Pirated Apple iWork software
CNet News: Apple issues critical QuickTime security update
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Filed under: Friday Finds
Maybe, you are right, but I believe mac remain a lot more safer than PC.
However, mac with the Itunes and Ipod may attract hackers on the other hand, because of their contants like music, shows, etc which are copyrighted!!
Good thing to alarm about it!
I don’t think it’s possible to know right now which is the most prone to hackers. Only when the PC and Mac are 50/50 will we know who is the more secure and I don’t think mac’s will ever be that popular. Even if it did happen, mac users are too loyal to go around say ‘my mac’s been hacked’.
Hello,
I’ve certainly noticed a huge shift in calls to the local computer shows. PC only shows are rapidly including a lot of Mac calls. People phone in asking the “which computer should I buy” question and they most often indicate that at least they’re thinking about a Mac. Face it, You buy a Mac, you get a very good window machine and Leopard, altogether. who else can say that ?
Thanks for the comments everyone.
To MarbleHosts point, you can always build a hackintosh if you are so inclined. Apple doesn’t like it but it can be done.
To Mark’s point. I agree, we’ll really never say for certain which platform is more secure until both platforms have the share of the market. Until then it’s Apple’s word against Microsoft’s word.
For the record, again, I’m not a Mac hater. I believe the Apple makes a beautiful product. If it weren’t for Apple, I think the market would still be filled with ugly beige boxes. I also believe competition is good and that the industry needs Apple to help drive progress and innovation. What I don’t believe in is this idea that one platform is better or more secure than another, and I think we’re starting to see with recent Mac attacks that “more secure than Windows” is just an empty marketing gimmick. The choice between Mac or PC (or even Linux desktop for that matter) is purely personal. What works for you may not work well for me. What you may think is great I may think is junk. I could sit here and provide a laundry list of examples showing that one platform is better than the other. Likewise someone could come along and provide an equal list supporting the opposite view. In the end it all comes down to personal preference.
One of the reason I believe why mac is less hacked is its users. Mac users are more “elite” therefore less interested in all these kind of hackings. They are just creative people using their computers to surf, save their pictures and make some drawings, whereas PCusers are all game addicts and businesses where all important onformation are saved.
More elite? Well, I’m sure they like to think so but I don’t that a Mac user is anymore “elite” than a Windows user.
Thanks for the comment
I think the elite thing is just part of the Apple image, partly fuelled by Apple themselves with their marketing campains. As you say, I don’t think a mac user is any more ‘elite’ then a PC user.
I’m also betting on the hackers, but it will be interesting.
I work in web design / development and there’s very little difference these days between Macs and PCs in my opinion.
The hardware is now more or less the same, the software is mainly cross-platform.
The main difference is the OS - OSX wins there in my opinion. But it’s a lot closer than it used to be.
The system of Mac is more difficult to use than PCs in my opinion. I have used both and as I am not a professional with computers I have to say that Mac was further difficult than using a normal PC.