For the most part, the idea of malware in Linux and OS X has been all but laughable. Still, I would challenge folks to tell me that having an outbreak in the future would be impossible. Sure, we do have that great Unix-styled security with limited access by default. But who’s to say what the future may hold…

The release in the last few days of malware for the Mac and Linux underscore some old issues about how it is possible to have malware on those platforms. I have some new thoughts though. I’ve begun to wonder what Apple would do if a real problem developed.

To be very clear, a real problem has not yet developed, and Inqtana.A and Leap.A are not a real problem, except to the extent that they may be bellwethers. They are more interesting for what they suggest than what they actually do.

It’s true that the Mac OS has had, for many years, an important level of protection that will only emerge in Windows with Vista: By default, Mac users run at a restricted privilege level, and any malware they run will be similarly restricted. [Read the rest]

Tags: apple, vista, malware, mac os