Mac Defender is turning out to be somewhat of an epidemic that neither Apple, nor Mac users seem prepared for. The Mac malware has caught the Apple ecosystem off guard and threatens to shatter the reality distortion field that Apple thrives on.
Apple, and the Apple faithful would like to pretend that Mac malware doesn't exist. But, thanks to some awesome investigative reporting by Ed Bott, Jacqui Cheng, and others, we know that AppleCare technicians are seeing an explosion of malware issues, and that Apple has specifically directed support technicians not to get involved.
Cheng points out that there is at least tacit acceptance by Apple that the possibility for malware exists because Apple actually sells multiple malware protection products. And, although Apple Store reps are quick to point out the superior security and lack of malware concerns on the Mac, internally Apple mandates the use of Norton malware protection.
A certain Apple loyalist recently called me--and a variety of respected tech writers--out for having the audacity to point out that Mac OS X is not invulnerable and that the potential for Mac malware is steadily rising. Really, I think Gruber was just being lazy that day because his contribution amounts to a single word, and the rest of the article is just a copy and paste of other content like mine.
I get it. Apple products are better. They are magic. They just work. Except when they're not, and they don't. If you look past the smoke and mirrors, you might be disappointed to find out that they're not really that different.
To be fair, I agree that there are fundamental aspects of the OS itself that make Mac OS X more secure, or harder to exploit to some extent. However, I still maintain that the real reason that Macs aren't plagued by more malware is that the platform represents such negligible market share that it's not worth the effort for malware developers.
Ultimately, though, more secure is a long, long way from completely secure or invulnerable. But, many think that Macs are just secure. Period. Mac users who have partaken of that Koolaid and developed some sort of belief that they are impervious to attack by virtue of using a Mac are learning in droves that reality falls short of the myth.
Malware is not the only concern. Many of the biggest threats online are simple phishing attacks and identity theft that are platform agnostic and have nothing to do with the security of the OS. But, the fallacy that Macs are just secure causes users to be naive about security in general. It is time for Mac users to take off the Apple colored glasses and realize that security is a concern.
Don't get me wrong. I like Apple (except for the abomination called iTunes). I love my iPhone and my iPad, and I am seriously considering a MacBook Air. But, I am not naive enough to believe they are secure by default. The false sense of security that comes from believing the Apple hype does users a disservice and leads them to get caught with their proverbial pants down when it comes to the various threats online.
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Comments received
mikee said on Fri, 20 May 2011
'Something of an epidemic? Why do you guys insist on sensationalising everything. I run Suffolk Mac User Group, we have over 140 members and ONLY ONE member has come across this malware (and he didn't install it). Now I know this MIGHT change in the future, but at present we do not regard this news as catastrophic at all. Our members are not daft enough to install software they haven't asked for and they are not so daft as to assume that their macs are 'just secure'. Ed Bott's article spoke (I think) of finding 200 cases mentioned on various tech forums - a complete insignificance compared to the issues that Windows users face daily.
Serenak said on Fri, 20 May 2011
What a load of sensationalist horsefeathers this is... (very many expletives deleted from that sentence!)
100,000 new malware threats a day for Windows is I believe the current estimate - vs. approximately what? 4 or 5 actual Mac Trojans IN TOTAL (which you have to install yourself... giving the Admin password). Do you think Mac users are all simpleminded? Do you think we believe we can cross the road without looking?
Here is something to remember most Mac users do know.
"It is unwise to trust the weather report you receive from an umbrella salesman"
As for Mr Gruber - he pointed out that writers like you have been gleefully predicting the oncoming "onslaught" that will destroy the Mac and all of its poor naive users for YEARS, and you are still waiting. Meanwhile millions of threats run riot through the Windows ecosphere - many of them capable of being collected merely by visiting a web page!
Oh and "Security through Obscurity"... give me a break.
Jonheard said on Fri, 20 May 2011
I'm with mikee & Serenak on this. All the Mac users I know are not daft enough to install unsolicited software; especially purported anti virus stuff. From day 1 since kissing goodbye to the software shambles that was the Windows platform several years ago now, I have protected my Mac with a full suite of Intego; and made sure that it is kept up-to-date. Result no malware invasions! I agree that OS X is by no means perfect, but it is a lot less hassle than the opposition.
Flyingjoe said on Sat, 21 May 2011
No one I have ever read online has said that Macs are 100% completely safe. BUT I have now lived a happy 5 years without antivirus software without a single issue, as compared to the hell I suffered with my PC. That is true for almost all Mac users - now that means something.
You know perfectly well that Trojans do not require antivirus software to protect the system - it's a user issue. So this isn't the incident that let's you finally print that false headline.
So it seems that you are happy to misinform your own readers in order to get clicks. Perhaps what we need in the Mac Community is some kind of antiviral blog product to prevent the spread of malicious lies like yours.
SuffolkPunch said on Sun, 22 May 2011
It looks as if you may have shot yourself in the foot, Mr Bradley! What an absolutely idiotic headline - and the by-line "... causing Mac users to fall prey to [...] phishing attacks" is naïve in the extreme, knowing - as you MUST do - that the platform is totally irrelevant if one is stupid enough to believe the email purporting to originate from one's bank/Paypal,etc! It all comes down to basic IT self-discipline and, maybe it really is true that Mac users are more self-disciplined!!
Many, many Mac users HAVE installed authentic AV software on their computers, often as a result of some sympathy for those unfortunates who have no choice in the computer they are obliged to use and thereby to help prevent the inadvertent proliferation of UCE and viruses aimed specifically at Windows machines.
There are, I am sure, ....[to be continued!]
SuffolkPunch said on Sun, 22 May 2011
[Continued from previous post!] ... many Mac users throughout the world who might well succumb to the threat that you have over-egged in your 'Opinion', but - even if the Mac OS ever overtakes Windows in its penetration of the commercial/corporate desktop market (and there are some who hope that it DOES) - it is unlikely that the underlying UNIX core would ever be quite the weak target for the miscreants who have practised their devious art on Windows/DOS until now!
SuffolkPunch said on Sun, 22 May 2011
It's interesting to note that Mr Bradley writes predominantly for PC World and that the comments on the original page [www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/228251/mac_defender_crashes_apple_security_myth.html] are a mixed bag - but still don't really support his argument!
SuffolkPunch said on Sun, 22 May 2011
That link above is better a tinyurl.com/6hlann2
qjames said on Thu, 26 May 2011
Trolls, wannabes, sour-pusses and generally jealous types come crawling out of the woodwork whenever a story that can be read as negative of Apple appears in the press. The only myth that has been crashed is the belief that journalists (possibly PC users) can write an accurate or balanced report based on facts rather than headless chickenism.
freelancer48 said on Sun, 29 May 2011
You guys do understand how viruses work, right? Its like advertising. For example, there are A people and B people. In the world, there are around 90% A people, and 10% B people. Who in there right mind would advertise to the B people? Thats how viruses work. The hackers aren't going to put effort into 10% of the market, when the same effort gets them 90% of the market. Macs security comes directly from its obscurity. I have absolute faith in the hacking community to hack the crap out of macs once they become an economically viable target.
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