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MacBook Air Hacked?

by Matt Hartley on March 27, 2008 at 11:14 pm · Comments
Categorized by GnomeREPORT / More Information

The idea of a MacBook or OS X for that matter being actively hacked may seem foreign to many of us, but I see this as a needed wakeup call. In short - no OS is completely bulletproof. I think that users of alternative OSes tend to get a little full of themselves in believing that Linux or OS X is somehow made of Teflon, totally impenetrable to an exploit despite some posted warning to the contrary.

At the end of the day, I think that people will need to take more responsibility of how they protect their computing environments through safe computing practices rather than tons of bloated, over-hyped software. In my opinion, good security starts with the user. And I personally think it is high time we remember this and stop placing so much importance on ridiculous software. What say you? When it comes to the safety of your computing experience, are you going to put extensive faith in your security software or instead, opt to rely more on your skills as a geek?

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What Do You Think?

cerberus - March 27, 2008 @ 11:34 pm

Hmm, what are suggesting? What skills are you talking about? And besides, not all of us are geeks! ( I know I’d like to be one, yeah I’d like to be a geek! )

John - March 28, 2008 @ 9:55 am

I agree completely - it’s the user’s responsibility to protect themselves, no matter what OS they’re using. Some of that protection does include software, mind you. It’s just not the one and only solution.

I’m a Mac user and in spite of this hacking contest I still feel more confident in the Mac OS than I do in Windows (including Vista) but I’m hardly blind to the fact that it’s not invulnerable.

I suspect more people realize that than you would think, but the vocal ones you read and hear are the ones drinking the Apple kool-aid who are fanatical about their choice. I think there are a lot of people who use it because they like it better for one reason or another, but realize it’s not 100% bulletproof. (And I suspect Linux users are the same - you only hear from the really vocal ones who are championing their “cause”).

John

granitw - March 28, 2008 @ 3:03 pm

I agree with you, but in truth: the only people I know of that think something like a Mac is completely secure are non-technical.

As for software, I also agree that it should be the user first. On the Mac side, there is no real security software on the Market in the first place. All anti-virus software and others for the Mac are actually to help protect Windows. You see, something like Norton for the Mac, actually searches for WIndows malware. This helps if a Mac user does a lot of file transferring to Windows.

Roofrocket - March 29, 2008 @ 8:57 am

Thank you so much for publishing this article. I can’t tell you how many times I have respectfully disagreed with OS X users about the OS’s imperviousness to malware. I have stated many times that as OS X grows in popularity, the danger of exploitation grows in proprtion. It’s always been quite simple. If YOU were going to write a malicious script, wouldn’t you create one that would do the most damage to the most machines. And that of course meant Windows would be the target.

As I have said, code is code. Macintosh does not have some magic formula to dodge the bullet. It was their 9 percent market share that spared them.

Common sense usage, as you state in your article, may spare the average user regardless of which OS they use.

Ralph - March 31, 2008 @ 6:12 am

I don’t care how geeky you are, it is somewhat naïve to think relying soley on your good computing practices will protect you from the increasingly sophisicated for profit malware out there. Software firewalls and anti-malware software are tools that should be employed as part of your protection strategy. While the percentage of non-Windows OS’s in use remains relatively small the incentive isn’t as great to attack them, but that will eventually change as either market share increases or criminals look for untapped and vulnerable pools of victims.

Chip - April 3, 2008 @ 8:13 am

Its the SAFARI BROWSER that had the vulnerability…. not the MacOS. Lets put the spotlight (no pun intended) on the actual weakness instead of running out and saying the engine was defective because the tire had a hole in it.

What are your thoughts?

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