OS X Security And Bug Fixes - Missing The Target?
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With so much emphasis on OS X and its bug fixes as new releases are being put forward, I cannot help but wonder if Apple developers are looking ahead to some of the security issues that Windows developers currently face today. Think of it this way, Mac OS X 10.5.7 “Juno” is going to be providing a number of bug fixes. Yet of those bug fixes, how many of them are actually going ensure continued safety for the Mac user?
Now I think it is great that releases such as this are so highly focused on expanding on Calendar Server, Podcast Producer and Network Image Utility. This is great. But in the end, every time a change is made, is there something possibly being missed behind the scenes someplace?
Then to take this a step further, phishing schemes, something that is platform independent, continues to become even more dangerous regardless of which OS you happen to enjoy. So let me ask this: will “Juno” do anything to help all of the gullible masses out there steer clear of the latest phishing schemes via Apple Mail? While it is not Apple’s responsibility, I am really hoping that something can be done in coming OS X releases for the hapless saps being taken advantage of.
8 Comments
gypkap
April 2nd, 2009
at 4:04pm
There are bug fixes that take care of errors that are not security risks, but make the OS or program run better/correctly.
There are other fixes that prevent malware (like phishing schemes, viruses, and spyware) from damaging your system.
Two different things…the second set is more critical of course.
Incidentally the first target for a worm (the Morris worm)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_worm
was a DEC VAX server running Unix, in common use in the 80s.
Unix and Linux systems are not necessarily immune to malware. As more Macs are sold, they will present a bigger target for malware, and will be attacked even more to be used in botnets and such.
lmccormick
April 2nd, 2009
at 5:29pm
I just want to say thank you, not for being a Mac user, but for being a mac user who agrees with the smart PC users who say Macs will succumb to security risks, and do, and are susceptible to viruses.
lakelady
April 2nd, 2009
at 5:34pm
it seems the question you are asking is really “is it possible to engineer out/around human stupidity”. I somehow doubt it.
Denis Walker
April 2nd, 2009
at 5:38pm
I disagree. I think it *is* Apple’s responsibility to design their software in such a way as to avoid malware threats. That’s not to say they should take Vista’s approach and ask permission to perform every little action.
Mail already defaults to not loading images. Alerting the user when for example following links of the type http://somethingelse.com, would be a step forward.
Troy Banther
April 2nd, 2009
at 5:56pm
I don’t agree. There is bad code and then there are bad users. The bad code I subscribe to a little software company in Redmond. Then there are bad users. Again, since the majority of people use the code from a small software company which runs 90 percent of the worlds computers, then that is where the money is for crackers to follow.
Does it mean OS X is immune/ No. Of course not. Then again, the majority of OS X users are educated and know how to use the computers they purchase.
Kitty
April 3rd, 2009
at 7:46am
In order to actually be secure, OS X will require substantial (and performance costly) architecture changes. As it stands, OS X is a swiss cheese OS in terms of security, having none of the exploit mitigation mechanisms present in most other modern operating systems.
The above poster is absolutely correct: Not all bugs are security related, and security related bugs are few and far between because there is little money in tackling a platform with the minute userbase of OS X.
Marcus
April 3rd, 2009
at 7:08pm
@Kitty: Can you quantify what you said? Why is OS X a “swiss cheese OS” as you put it? I’m curious.
Cos
April 5th, 2009
at 5:32am
The post is right to a point. That point begian that not all bug fix are related to secrity.