To John et al, Sorry, but I think you're underexaggerating security issues. While there are no viruses for Mac OS X, there are plenty of vulnerabilities for Apple and 3rd-party software that still remain unpatched. Even if they are patched, it took quite some time for Apple or the respective vendors to do so, I think the quoted turnaround time for a patch was 2 months. That's not counting social engineering and the likes of phishing for passwords through websites and what have you. And if the only reason for not caring is because of the lack of serious sploits out there, that's not much of a reason..that's lax security, and you're a sitting target because you are willing to be so complacent about a possibly malicious attack.
Yes, OS X is inherently more secure than Windows. No, it does not mean you're completely protected from every single security threat out there, even the big one of social engineering, better known as human fallibility. Security through obscurity is also the worst way to handle things..just wait until more and more people use Macs. I'm sure many people saw firsthand all the issues after watching the Month of Apple Bugs unfold...30 back-to-back days of vulnerabilities and proofs of concepts to exploit Mac OS X and some very popular 3rd party apps. Apple released the first security update of 2007 fixing one of the MOAB bugs - the quicktime RTSP bug, 23 days after it was first announced. The vulnerability was one where if you visited a particularly crafted link, it enabled the execution of arbitrary code. Simple, elegant, and potentially dangerous. And if you use Windows, it would not be a bad idea to scan files before sending them to colleagues or anyone that use Windows machines, or if you're sharing a drive in bootcamp. You can have files that are infected that don't do anything in OS X that may be dangerous in Windows. This is no excuse for Windows users not to use software like nod32 or other AV/anti-malware software, but just saying more security is better than none. cheers, jane On 8/4/07, John Panarese <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > It is likely that someone with far too much time and the mind to > to do so will come up with some kind of virus or such, but for the > time being, there are no known viruses that effect the Mac OS. There > have been claims and other nonsense about viruses or serious security > problems with Macs that have panned out to be relative exaggerations > or complete hoaxes. This includes an article in News Week when Vista > came out in which Bill Gates ranted about how Mac users are at risk > every day and Macs get taken over all the time compared to Windows, by > the way. It is, from my understanding, a matter of the architecture > of Mac OS X compared to that of Windows. Also, of course, Microsoft > and security are the twenty-first century's greatest oxymoron. > > Take Care > > John D. Panarese > Managing Director > Technologies for the Visually Impaired, Inc. > 9 Nolan Court > Hauppauge, NY 11788 > Tel/Fax, (631) 724-4479 > Email, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Internet, http://www.tvi-web.com > > AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTORS FOR PORTSET SYSTEMS LTD, COMPSOLUTIONS VA, > PREMIER ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES, INDEX, PAPENMEIER, REPRO-TRONICS, > DUXBURY, SEROTEK AND OTHER PRODUCTS FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED > > AUTHORIZED APPLE BUSINESS AGENT > MAC VOICEOVER TRAINING
