Let me start this off with a disclaimer, I am not a Mac fanboy. I have worked for 15 years with PCs, and the last time I used a Mac was in the computer labs at college over a decade ago. For many people, they represent a perfect computer. They are fantastic at many tasks, but I am not a user who needs one. For decades Apple advertisements, Cult-of-Jobs members and in-store "geniuses" would boast that Macs were invulnerable to viruses and malware. Unfortunately for Mac users, they are discovering that’s simply not the case. For every operating system, there are security holes that can be exploited in order to install malware. As the world found out in the past few months, Apple's OS X is no exception.
So are Macs virus free? Lately there’s been a lot of media recognition regarding the FlashBack Trojan hitting Mac users, which at one point had infected over 600,000 Macs. This is merely the beginning, as Apple gains more and more of the market share in both homes and businesses. As more people use Macs, they become a more visible and viable target for virus writers to target, since they can infect and affect more lives. Apple has also not adequately addressed many security problems in OS X, but instead glossed over them.
For example, in OS X Lion (version 10.7) the current release of Apple’s operating system, the firewall is disabled by default, security updates are not enforced automatically, the bluetooth service is set to discoverable, several file permissions are far more open than they ought to be and often security patches take quite some time to be deployed from Apple once a new vulnerability is publicly disclosed. On top of that, in a bout of denial, Apple even refused to refer to Flashback as a trojan or a virus in most of their early press releases.
Of equal concern is the fact that Apple does not update any operating systems that is two releases old or older, which means that only Leopard (10.5), Snow Leopard (10.6) and Lion (10.7) are currently supported for security updates. All previous versions of Mac OS X have basically been abandoned. Because Apple comes out with a new operating system release about once a year, that means that they generally only support ‘legacy’ versions of OS X that are about two or three years old. Because of this limited support for OS X the entire PowerPC platform will not be getting any patches, nor will older releases of OS X, like Tiger (10.4).
So what is the solution to this problem? Well, Mac users need to be more pro-active on their computer security like users of other operating systems. Set Bluetooth off if you do not need it, make sure your OS is as updated as it can be on a regular basis, and enable the firewall. On top of that, Mac users should follow the big rule that PC users have known for a long time; don't go online without protection. Get an antivirus program, keep it updated and be vigilant in what you download and access. As time goes on, we will see more exploits attacking Mac OS, and users need to be prepared.
If you think your Mac has been infected with the Flashback virus, check out Apple's security update. It removes the viruses and patches the route it used to get in. That can help clear out some of the popular variants, but if you have any more problems, you can consult any of your local Mac specialty stores (we have some great locally-owned ones here in the pioneer valley). If your PC has a bug, we can help with that in our downtown Northampton store in the Ink & Toner Solutions building, contact us for more information!
Check out our guide with a few anti-virus sugestions. Click below.
