I'm well versed in PC's, but a newb to macs. Why don't one of you guys make a small web page listing the items, settings, etc. that need to be changed and how to change them, as well as some cautions of things a user should 'never' do?
I know what you are talking about in the pc world, but don't yet know how to make many of these changes you guys are talking about on the mac. Rad... On 4/13/04 9:18 AM, "Philip Stortz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > the problem is that most users never change those settings, and don't realize > that it > inherently creates a security problem. there are other problem settings, just > like when > "auto play" was the default for cd's and dvd's. the real problem is a lack of > consideration of the security implications when the software is written and > default > settings are chosen, which also suggest a general lack of consideration of > security, > meaning there are other problems. the main reason more vulnerabilities > haven't been > published is again because macs are a smaller market and people spend less > time trying to > abuse them. > > i strongly suspect that os x is at least as vulnerable as a sun sparc station > running suns > os' or most other small market share machines (and sun os vulnerabilities are > found all > the time), it just hasn't gotten the attention some others have. at the same > time, there > have been a number of security problems with bsd, which os x is based on, but > most people > haven't checked to see if the mac os also has those same holes, but it > probably does in > most cases, and apple has not released patches for many of those security > holes. os x > users running default settings, no firewall, and who aren't sophisticated in > how they've > changed settings and download material are vulnerable, and are living on > borrowed time as > far as avoiding worms, trojans, and spyware are concerned. > > ignoring things like meta data is a perfect example of failing to take > advantage of a > mechanism that is already in place and improves security, and by so doing > apple has left > open a vulnerability that windows has had for a long, long time. it's just > carelessness > and apathy about security, about doing the easy to do right things the right > way rather > than the slightly more lazy way. > > hell, the mac version of I.E. has many of the same bugs as the pc version, and > many mac > users blindly use it. the other problem is that many security intrusions go > undetected. > if someone steals the registration info for an application on your machine you > won't know > until the registration code is all over the web and the manufacturer blocks > free updates > of that security number, at best. if it's credit card info you won't know > until it's > abused, and there is actually a flood of credit card info on the web creating > a surplus so > many stolen credit card numbers don't get used, if you're lucky. > > fortunately, people who aren't in a corporate setting usually aren't as > damaged by an > intrusion, those in an institution can lose proprietary information and may > never know it > was stolen or just which competitor has their customer list and most recent > bid proposals, > but they will feel the effects. they just won't know how or why things are > happening, > which is one of the functions of a good firewall, i.e. to at least let you > know when your > data has been raped and how badly, and if your' lucky by who. > > never confuse fashion and luck with security, pc's are the fashionable target, > and the mac > community has been lucky, very lucky all things considered. i suspect that > despite our > dislike of public schools almost universally using pc's that this has been a > big factor in > keeping the mac community relatively free of virii, and this goes for colleges > as well > where there are still more pc's available than macs even in most schools that > do have > macs. an ounce of carelessness a pound of headaches. > > David Ensteness wrote: >> >> You guys do know that this can be turned off in your web browser right? >> It is an option. >> >> David >> >> On Apr 12, 2004, at 7:21 PM, Robin Ashe wrote: >> >>> >>>> I hope Apple pays attention, though, and quits automatically >>>> unpacking and >>>> opening downloaded files by default. Because *that* is already a > ------- -- Unsupported OS X is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Unsupported OS X list info <http://lowendmac.com/lists/unsupported.html> --> 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/unsupportedosx%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
