Mac OS X security under scrutiny

[regic]

When the SANS Institute, a computer-security training organization, released its Top-20 vulnerabilities last week, the rankings continued an annual ritual aimed at highlighting the worst flaws for network administrators. This year, the list had something different, however: The group flagged the collective vulnerabilities in Apple Computer's Mac OS X operating system as a major threat.

It's the first time that the SANS Institute called out an entire operating system for its vulnerabilities...

full article: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/01/secfoc_macos/

[misteroriginal]

Dream on, babe!

[bargainbloodhound]

The vulnerabilities in every OS are a threat when you connect a server to the Internet...even the MAC, Linux, and Unix systems. They are all full of security holes that can be easily exploited (and will be instantly exploited if your site receives any amount of traffic) if you don't apply patches the second they are released.

In the past week alone we have applied 24 patches (6 security related, 18 bug fixes) to our servers running Fedora (Red Hat Linux).  We've applied a dozen patches to our SuSE Linux servers since the start of this year (averages out to 1 per day).

This is the list of Fedora patches (and Linux is a "safe", "secure" OS) http://fedoranews.org/mediawiki/index.ph..._4_Updates

There is no such thing as a safe OS, and "safer" doesn't matter as long as there is even one hole that can be exploited

[misteroriginal]

Fact is unix-based systems have a much better record. The Microsoft fiends who saved a few pennies at point of purchase and built the monopoly are dying to see others suffer the same unending headaches. It won't happen. I'm sure some vulnerabilities will eventually be exploited, but NEVER to the extent Windows has experienced.

[mandy]

The first known computer virus, the Elk Cloner, is 25 years old...

That first virus was specific to the Apple II computer and spread by inserting itself into the operating system files that were installed on every boot floppy, since this was in the days before hard drives in personal computers...

These days Apple users are almost unbearably smug when the subject turns to malware...

It would certainly be wonderful if the Macintosh computer and its operating system were immune to attack but this is just wishful thinking. Mac OS is certainly a lot better than Windows, but being better isn't nearly enough...

full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4609968.stm

[misteroriginal]

[quote author=mandy link=topic=1510.msg7828#msg7828 date=1137488181]

...Mac OS is certainly a lot better than Windows...

full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4609968.stm
[/quote]

It's an excellent article and I agree with prettty much everything, BUT...

Bill Gates lovers are a thick-headed bunch. I don't know how to get through to them that there are other alternatives. Mac's could get hit with a virus someday, but over-emphasizing OS X/Unix/Linux vulnerabilities does not help the mindless Gates goose-stepping masses to be "unplugged" from their mindlessness.

[bargainbloodhound]

I especially agree with this quote in regard to web servers: 

but being better isn't nearly enough...

but over-emphasizing OS X/Unix/Linux vulnerabilities does not help the mindless Gates goose-stepping masses to be "unplugged" from their mindlessness

I don't think it really matters what anyone says as long as the majority of offices continue to use Windows and the majority of consumer programs continue to be written for Windows.  The mass market will buy what it is most familiar with or what is the most popular even if it is crap (eBay and most music put out by major labels in the past decade come to mind here).

If people bought based on quality the main OS in use in offices today would be OS/2 and not Windows XP Pro. When IBM and Microsoft ended their OS partnership on OS/2 and the split occured that resulted in the technically superior/safer OS/2 and the bug ridden Windows NT offices went with the branch that had the familiar Windows name rather than the better OS/2 product.

I'm babbling 

[mandy]

Technology commentator Bill Thompson responds to the feedback he received over his column suggesting that Mac users are too smug about computer security.

The vehemence with which the Mac community greeted my modest suggestion that the security of Mac OS might not be absolute did not surprise me...

I wrote it because I'm a Mac user, among other things, and I worry that we do not take security seriously enough as a community.

Despite what some people seem to think having read the piece, I don't believe that Mac viruses already exist, and I think it's very unlikely that they ever will.

full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4620548.stm