That's always been my biggest problem with apple, i.e. they don't properly document security holes and patches on their website. because of this, when a big hole is found in all bsd based operating systems it's difficult or impossible to determine whether apple has fixed a given problem.
it's also sad to see them taking the microsoft approach to security publicity, constantly downplaying real threats and even lying about updates for security by saying they are to "improve performance" when they are actually meant to patch serious security holes (actually, the computer industry in general is guilty of a good deal of spin management on security issues, offering platitudes rather than trying to educate users or just be honest). os x users are headed for a rude awakening, and it will happen soon. no matter what os you use, you'd better have a firewall and some idea of how to set it up, and if you don't know you had better learn! virus activity on the net has been incredible for months now. some crackers are competing with others to see who can do the most damage, and their exploits have even included taunts to other groups. it's about communication and honesty, if a company isn't honest about security problems users are far more likely to have rude surprises, especially users who bother to keep up with things and actually have critical applications like commercial web pages and stores. a company can go out of business quick if they can't keep an online store up or get badly ripped off. heads up folks, not heads in the sand. apple has been lucky for a long time, but remember os x is unix based, and unix was one of the first widely cracked systems, and the best and brightest programers and crackers gravitate towards unix type systems, and tend to stumble on security issues, even if they aren't aggressively looking for those bugs. one interesting note about mac security, i maintain several separate email addresses for different types of activity. the address i use for all of my apple listserv stuff is the only one that's ever had any spam of any type. some people on this list have had their machines cracked and address books accessed, and it's been done by the nigerian type scammers! these people are serious organized criminals. it may be that they've hacked windows boxes that some use for their list, but the insecurity of those systems then impacts the security of others on the list. vulnerabilities in one system often threaten the security of other systems, it's important to keep that in mind. after all, the net is a network, i.e. every thing is interconnected to various degrees. Donald Parsons wrote: > > Thie is an interesting article regarding Mac security information. > > http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-5225115.html > > Don > > -- > G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... > > Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | > -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | > > Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> > > G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> > --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; > Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> > > Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
