Everyone knows that apples are "more secure" and I admit that Apple has certainly put some work into securing their systems. However, we also know that Apples are not as popular as PCs and, as such, have not presented as appealing of a target to hackers and virus writers.

My question for discussion is this - now that Apple computers are becoming more popular, as more viruses and attacks start getting generated, will Steve Jobs be in for a rude awakening?

Could it be that Microsoft's eternal "trial by fire" with respect for security will result in Windows appearing more secure once the attacks on Apple computers reach much higher levels? Has Apple been resting on its "security laurels" somewhat and if so, will that result in bitter shock for them and their users down the road?

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c79b814e-a364-11dc-b229-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

12/6/2007 8:27:33 AM

you mean like that one trojan that required the user to install it and confirm installation? Sounds like user error to me not security issues.

12/6/2007 9:28:09 AM

I read somewhere that the security flaws that are really going to get Apple aren't the new ones that are included with their new OS versions, but are going to be due to some of the old, outdated, legacy unix programs on which their OS is built.

What exactly is beyond me, but I vaguely remember the article pointing out some of the older Unix programs having issues such as buffer underruns, etc., that could take down a computer pretty easily.

12/6/2007 10:01:52 AM

It seems to me that Apple and MS take two different approaches to security. Since OS X has a Unix-esque kernel at it's core, it's got all the user groups and permissions that make that OS secure by default. They took that basic infrastructure and built on top of it. MS on the other hand, built their OS and then afterwards said "ok, now we need to make it secure". Look at how Vista was advertised, they were essentially saying "Windows Vista - now featuring security!!!". That's how we ended up with that Windows Defender garbage. I have no idea which will be more secure in the end, but I don't think you can deny that Apple took a much more pro-active approach to making their OS secure.

12/6/2007 10:16:41 AM

^^^ I agree that Apple does not have security problems today. My question is about the future - sort of the old "smart kid" / "average kid" situation where the smart kid breezes through high school without studying but then flunks out of his first semester in college, while the average kid, who learned the importance of studying, excels when he gets to college.

12/6/2007 10:38:14 AM