John Markoff reports for The New York Times, “Internet security is broken, and nobody seems to know quite how to fix it.”
MacDailyNews Take: We do.
Markoff continues, “Despite the efforts of the computer security industry and a half-decade struggle by Microsoft to protect its Windows operating system, malicious software is spreading faster than ever. The so-called malware surreptitiously takes over a PC and then uses that computer to spread more malware to other machines exponentially. Computer scientists and security researchers acknowledge they cannot get ahead of the onslaught.”
“As more business and social life has moved onto the Web, criminals thriving on an underground economy of credit card thefts, bank fraud and other scams rob computer users of an estimated $100 billion a year, according to a conservative estimate by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,” Markoff reports.
MacDailyNews Take: Geez, with that kind of money, we could bail out the U.S. automakers quarterly.
Markoff continues, “For now, Apple’s Macintosh computers are more or less exempt from the attacks, but researchers expect Apple machines to become a larger target as their market share grows.”
Full article here.
Ah, yes, the typical Stockholm Syndrome/Cognitive Dissonance-afflicted myth recitation from the Windows sufferers. Larger target does not necessarily equal more hits.
Once again, it is utterly illogical to imply that the Mac platform is secure via obscurity. Why, if obscurity means security, in April 2007 was there a virus for iPods running Linux (a few thousand devices total, to wildly overestimate, in all the world), but there are no viruses in 7+ years for the over 30 million Mac OS X computers that are currently online? And, why would criminals not target the most affluent personal computer users, the tens of millions of Mac users around the world?
We’ve asked those and similar questions for years, yet the silence remains deafening and telling.
Simple logic is certainly not what AV software peddlers, Windows PC box assemblers, and the rest of the leeches affixed to the Windows ecosystem want people to hear. Fear is what they’re after. The sheep must be kept in the Windows pen, no matter the cost to reputations, reality, productivity, sanity, etc. Far too many have far too much invested in Microsoft Windows for them to stand idly by and let it all slip away due to a vastly superior, vastly more secure solution from Apple. But slip away it does nonetheless.
The idea that Windows’ morass of security woes exists because more people use Windows and that Macs have no security problems because fewer people use Macs, is simply not true. By design, Mac OS X is simply more secure than Windows. Period. For reference and reasons why Mac OS X is more secure than Windows, Markoff’s colleague, The New York Times’ David Pogue, provides a concise mea culpa on the subject of the “Mac Security Via Obscurity” myth here.
“Security via Obscurity” is a defense mechanism for the delusional and also tool for Microsoft apologists and/or those who profit from Windows; to be used when attempting keep the sheep in the pen. 30 million Mac OS X installs is not “obscure” at all, but over seven (7+) years of Mac users surfing the Net unimpeded certainly is “secure.” Besides social engineering scams (phishing, trojans; no OS can instill common sense) the only thing by which Mac users are really affected are large swaths of compromised Windows machines slowing down the ‘Net with spam and nefarious botnet traffic targeted at exploiting even more insecure Windows boxes.
The. Problem. Is. Windows. Get a Mac.
It seems only “real” computers are affected by malware. And just think of all the job creation from that $100 billion!
MDN:
I love your automaker jab. LOL
The problem is windows. Hit the nail on the head!
Even if you accept that OS X might suffer from a few, but nowhere near as many as the thousands or even millions of security problems that Windows has, I’m pretty sure that if Apple were given $100 billion a year they’d not only eradicate them but we’d probably also be living on Mars within a decade and have those flying cars that they’ve been promising for a while. Oh and there would likely be peace on Earth.
Windows users need a massive bailout.
Congress should nationalize Apple and give all PC users a free copy of Mac OS X.
This is the same philosophy being applied to banks and car makers, so why not Apple to some this “national problem?”
Geez, with that kind of money, we could bail out the U.S. automakers quarterly.
The auto industry needs to straighten itself out. If some big names collapse then so be it.
“As more business and social life has moved onto the Web, criminals thriving on an underground economy of credit card thefts, bank fraud and other scams rob computer users of an estimated $100 billion a year
Which means that $100 billion only counts direct theft?!?! What’s the indirect cost of baby sitting, lost productivity and general fidddle-fsking around?
Yes, that kind of money could certainly be put to much better uses.
One of the tech guys in my district turns his nose up every time I point out that we should switch from Windows machines to Macs. “They’re way too expensive,” he argues. Meanwhile, we re-image every new machine to “downgrade” from Vista to Windows, and we’re having to re-image machines left and right because of malware, even more so this school year since we switched from a Novell network to a Windows network.
That same guy had the nerve to tell me a couple weeks ago how he and his son spent an entire weekend wiping and re-configuring his own home machines because they had a virus which, much to his dismay, he finally discovered was residing on his wireless router, so every time he wiped a machine, the virus magically reappeared. That’s a weekend he’ll never get back.
I’ve been using OS X since version 2 on three machines with no malware protection without a minute lost to malware. Now, which machines are too expensive?
This is the same philosophy being applied to banks and car makers, so why not Apple to some this “national problem?”
Because Apple is profitable, and doesn’t have enough presence on government computers. Apple-board member Al Gore may or may not make up for these….
Expect different, however, when Ballmer runs MS into bankruptcy, and runs to Congress with a FUD campaign declaring “90% of the world’s computers will stop working if MS goes under!!”.
Of course everyone here knows better, but the idiots on Capitol Hill will cave without a fight.
“And, why would criminals not target the most affluent personal computer users, the tens of millions of Mac users around the world?”
It’s because Mac users are better looking than the average PC user, and criminals don’t like upsetting attractive people. It goes against their ideals.
Now, which machines are too expensive?
Reminds me of the Ford Pinto. Where they determined it was cheaper to let people die, than to spend $11 per car on a safety shield.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Pinto#Safety_problems
Granted this comparison is a bit macabre. But time is something you never get back. Is it worth losing over a “bargain” PC?
Been using OS X since its first release in March 2001 and have not had a single issue with malware…without running anti-virus software.
Prior to that, used Mac OS 7-9 without any malwares issues as well.
I continue to be astounded by how many Windohs users voluntarily submit themselves to waterboarding via MS’s crap.
About five or so years ago, the entire Wichita Falls (Texas) ISD’s Windows POSs became infected with a virus and were mostly unusable for almost an entire school year.
Even if Mac OS X had 50% market share, the hackers will still go after Windows. Why? Because as a target, Mac OS X is hard, Windows is easy. Criminals are generally lazy. They will always go after the easy money first; the low-hanging fruit is Windows, not Apple.
These so-called “experts” quoting the security-via-obscurity myth have been saying the same thing for years. Now Mac OS X is at about 10%, and they keep saying it. In two or three years, when Mac OS is at 20% they will still be saying it. Morons…
@aka Christian
Did you ask him what his hourly rate is?
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I love the security by obscurity argument. Windows users would have you believe there are 10 Macs in use.
Millions upon millions of Macs with NO anti-virus software, owned by people who have more money to spend than Windows users and not one actual breach, aside from Trojans.
Whatever, Windows users. Keep using Windows. Keep telling us Macs sucks. KEEP PAYING ME MONEY TO FIX YOUR PROBLEMS (even though the fixes are free LOL).
Especially when you consider the number of Mac haters out there, the fact there has been no Mac virus to send us into a frenzy in spite of openly thumbing the nose at PCs, and double dog daring them again and again. I think we’re safe.
No malware was the main reason I switched from Windows to Mac about seven years ago. Once on the Mac, I began appreciating all the other great features of OSX–all of a sudden, computers were fun again!
Thank you, SJ.
Go Apple!!
Corp IT is working OT to keep Apple out. Our Corp IT director ran to my office to show me the BB Storm, and how great it was. “No need to consider iPhone now” he bellowed!!
I asked the guy if he had used an iPhone, he said not “yet”. So, here we are, iPhone on the market 18 months, IT director will not lay eyes on it, BB Storm on market 24 hours, IT director says best phone on market and he’s personally testing it. Is there any wonder why Apple can’t get into the enterprise??? Trust me, these guys understand the implications of Apple technology, and they don’t like it one little bit.
I continue to be astounded by how many Windohs users voluntarily submit themselves to waterboarding via MS’s crap.
But it feels so good when you stop!!
Our culture is branded with the notions that Windows is the “way computers work” and “tech equals misery”. People are slowly seeing the light via the iPod and iPhone, but it’s still gonna take some time.
And, why would criminals not target the most affluent personal computer users, the tens of millions of Mac users around the world?
Because criminals are lazy, and the Windows sheep are such easy targets.
Think about it. If the bad guys wanted to work, they’d have regular jobs.
Trust me, these guys understand the implications of Apple technology, and they don’t like it one little bit.
Exactly. Corporate IT guys NEED computers that constantly break for job security. Corporate IT guys NEED to show their “superiority” by fixing things for people. Corporate IT guys LOVE to show their MS certifications and think that makes them better, and more important, than everyone else.
Corporate IT guys are idiots and if I ever make it to that level, MS-only guys will all be let go in favor of Mac/Linux guys who have Windows knowledge.
MW: Hell – Windows is the hell of computing.
This story illustrates the way our laws, and indeed customer perceptions, treat hardware vastly differently from software.
If hardware issues caused this kind of money loss annually, the hardware makers would be sued to smithereens. But these problems are caused by software, and somehow that flies under the radar.
Microsoft has worked like crazy to lower everyone’s expectations of what technology can do, to simply accept that computers are buggy, confusing, and insecure.
But thankfully an increasingly tech-savvy populace is growing wise to this game of theirs, combined with the increased prominence of viable competitors such as Apple, showing what technology is truly capable of.
And companies whose IT departments deliberately shun Apple, in favor of continuing to suck up to Microsoft, will be punished in the marketplace for spending far too much unnecessary time and money sorting out their insecure Windows boxes, when they could have invested in technology that’s far cheaper to maintain.
Our district is coming around … the big guys retire in a couple of years.
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Isn’t it interesting that Bill Gates wants to work with B. O. for the government. Seeing the dems used Windows at their convention, it stands to reason he would have an in. If that turns out to be the case, so much for change!
There are so many out there that do not know about the Mac. I have been a user (in the classical sense) for 15 years and recently joined a multi national company, that have set a standard for everyone to use Campaq laptops.
I used it for a week and then brought my Mac to work and connected to the server and WiFi and the printers without a hiccup. I needed an IT guru to set up my Compaq laptop to connect to the printers. I only use it for the endless emails that flow through the system and use my Mac for productivity and the things that count.
My boss saw the Mac and got a bit shitty that I wasn’t using my brand new Compaq for everything. He didn’t want to know about the Mac at all. He kept saying that he was too old to learn a new operating system. I just told him that was a load of shit and he should join the 21st century.
I still use my Mac and others look in wonder at what it can do and wish! They are just too scared to make the break. Maybe they think they are somehow being disloyal to the PC or that there is no way out of the system they know, otherwise why haven’t they been told about the answer by someone other than me!!!
Stockholm syndrome is too polite a term for the whole situation. There are millions of people out there that have never heard of a MAC. It’s true….. never even heard of it. Sad eh!
It will be interesting to see the books and papers that are written in 20 years to explain the virtually universal mind-boggling stupidity and denial that forced an entire world into slavery to a series of increasingly complex and badly designed MS operating systems!
Perhaps it will only take 10 years if Balmer is still in charge.
Actually
Windows XP is the insecure OS, if you don’t take certain stringent options, don’t know what your doing, haven’t wiped, reinstalled and updated.
Windows Vista is much better for security.
OS X is the best for security, BUT Apple is VERY NOSEY, EFI for instance, which is a operating system type firmware.
Give a new app your admin password and god knows what gets installed in EFI. Having internet access and reading your hard drive before OSX has even loaded! All part of the new DRM standard.
Wonder why it’s been taking longer and longer to boot OS X after Leopard upgrade?
Well my sniffer has been getting hits from my Mac’s as the OS is being loaded after Leopard.
It is true that we could be more efficient in a world without Windows. It is also true that banks could be more efficient by conducting all their business electronically. What about car dealers? We could buy our cars on the web. Shopping should also be done electronically. This would certainly be better since we could adjust production to demand exactly. We could even improve the system by reducing the number of clothes available. That would allow for even greater economies of scale!
I imagine you get the point. Yes, our economy is inefficient. But it gives us choice and it produces jobs. Make it too efficient and we lose both. Not a good path to follow if you ask me.
Pete,
an expert with a sniffer. And a list of announcements.
Vista is better – better than what, Pete? My dog is smarter than my cat, but they still cant read or speak.
It takes longer for Leopard to boot because Apple is stealing all the cash from your bank account, Pete.
Pete – can you hear me Pete? Pete? Pete?
“I’m sorry, Pete wont get another day-pass until Thursday.”
Banks would be more efficient if they didn’t blow our cash on bad investments. Wow.
Auto makers would be better if the made simple cheap cars that weren’t ugly and heavy on gas.
Dare to imagine.
Life could be better, simply by doing MORE THINGS RIGHT – fuck the argument that life must be inefficient so that we have choice. Thats arrant nonsense.
Reductionist crap – we must use Windows, after all everything is bad anyway, so thats good, right?
Wrong, Dutch. Very wrong. Horribly wrong. Dangerously wrong.
Hey Dutch – do you, know Pete by any chance?
Writing the first real virus for OS X is the Hacker Holy Grail, and it hasn’t been done yet.
Telling.
If citizens of a country did that much damage to the US, the govt would be carpet-bombing them by now.
If security by obscurity works, then the haters are our first line of defence.
Cubert,
Those capable of writing a virus for a Mac are too busy writing software for Apple products.
Those who make a living off botnets are too lazy to learn to code for a Mac and too busy spending their money on the finer things in life. (Whiskey and Whores).
Besides, Macs spend most of their day in sleep mode. No profit there. Too bad XP & Vista are virtually incapable of going into sleep mode.
Exactly. Corporate IT guys NEED computers that constantly break for job security. Corporate IT guys NEED to show their “superiority” by fixing things for people. Corporate IT guys LOVE to show their MS certifications and think that makes them better, and more important, than everyone else.
It’ll be interesting when Corporate IT gets to smell the stench of our worsening economy, when certain IT clowns get “taken behind the barn” by their boards, and get orders.
Something nice, like to immediately cut head count by half, and reduce their operating costs by double-digit percentages within months. Oh, and to improve uptime and IT effectiveness in the process.
At what point do they choose results over make-work?
It’s coming to the Mac, just not to the same degree. Give it 3 more years and 40% of you smarter one will be running Anti-V/Malware programs.
The Windows guys have been saying “OS X is going to be overrun by malware, just like we have been, any day now!” for the last eight years. It just doesn’t seem to happen.
“Security via Obscurity” seems viable to IT people and those of mental similarity because it rhymes. For people of that mentality – if it rhymes it must be true.
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