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Time for another security rant
It seems once every five or six weeks, an event, report, or posting comes along that leads us to the always volatile subject of Mac security. It has been a while since the buzz on the Mac DNSchanger trojan died down, so I guess we're about due for another one.
Mac security is a touchy subject to say the least. The mere mention of the concept of Malware makes the fanboys roll their eyes and laugh in disgust, which causes the security guys to roll their eyes and laugh in disgust, which causes me to get dizzy from following everyone's rolling eyes.
These pieces are like comment grenades. You toss one up, and suddenly there's a hail responses. You get comments flaming the article, then you get comments flaming the flames, then you get comments flaming those who flamed the flames, and it just goes on and on.
So, without further ado, let's pull the pin...
This time around, it's a report by Sophos. The security outfit ran a survey which found that about ninety per cent of computer users believe that Mac malware will only get worse in the coming months and years. This is up from about seventy per cent last year.
The good news is that the spread of malware isn't determined by user surveys, its determined by where money can be made. Malware authors will target the easy buck.
The bad news is, the bad guys seem to be agreeing with the users. Last fall we had the first Mac malware surface. We also have tools like MPack which allow a single web page to target multiple vulnerabilities, platforms, and browsers and are becoming easier to obtain and deploy.
Still, there's hope. The malware writers are still just dipping their toes in. OS X has yet to prove itself as a big cash cow for the bad guys. As Graham Cluley at Sophos noted, user habits can keep hackers at bay and the crop of Mac malware small.
So, practice smart surfing. Make sure your system is updated, don't open suspicious downloads or attachments, and tell your friends and family to do the same.
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