Apple acknowledges Mac Defender malware, promises update • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple acknowledges Mac Defender malware, promises update

#11

Post by chicagobob » Wed, May 25, 2011, 6:20 AM UTC

ddagradi wrote: post #8

vacri wrote: post #6

heh, given that Apple was previously directing staffers not to acknowledge it, when I read this headline all I could think of was Jobs telling a press conference "OSX now has malware. This is a new, must-have feature that will revolutionise the industry!"...

Apple is pretty damn careful about not making press releases until they have a clear, concise and informative statement to make. Staffers were likely instructed not to address it because the official response was forthcoming. Yes, it's a slow response, but not worth attributing to malice.

As Gruber says: Measure Twice, Cut Once is the Apple approach

Re: Apple acknowledges Mac Defender malware, promises update

#12

Post by beedogs » Wed, May 25, 2011, 6:52 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #3

Malware is so rare on the Mac that Apple set up an entire web page to deal with the one trojan currently known to be impacting Mac users. Macs aren't more secure than Windows machines, but they're still undeniably safer (at least for normal people).

"Macs aren't more secure than Windows machines, but they're still undeniably safer (at least for normal people)."

That's a pretty absurd statement which, if it even made sense, would be far more applicable in the Bad Old Days of Windows XP.

Re: Apple acknowledges Mac Defender malware, promises update

#13

Post by epistasis » Wed, May 25, 2011, 7:44 AM UTC

beedogs wrote: post #12

tptacek wrote: post #3

Malware is so rare on the Mac that Apple set up an entire web page to deal with the one trojan currently known to be impacting Mac users. Macs aren't more secure than Windows machines, but they're still undeniably safer (at least for normal people).

"Macs aren't more secure than Windows machines, but they're still undeniably safer (at least for normal people)." That's a pretty absurd statement which, if it even made sense, would be far more applicable in the Bad Old Days of Windows XP.

It makes plenty of sense, and I don't think it's absurd in the least. It's the difference between locking your bike up in the middle of NYC vs. locking it up in a small rural town with identical locks to identical fixtures. One of these situations is much safer, even though there's no security difference.

Re: Apple acknowledges Mac Defender malware, promises update

#14

Post by kapitalx » Wed, May 25, 2011, 7:47 AM UTC

It is inevitable that as mac becomes more popular, we'll see more viruses and malware.

Re: Apple acknowledges Mac Defender malware, promises update

#15

Post by hobolobo » Wed, May 25, 2011, 10:23 AM UTC

An interesting question is whether this is merely a blip or part of a trend. Apple's user base must be an enormously tempting target for malware creators.

Re: Apple acknowledges Mac Defender malware, promises update

#16

Post by innes » Wed, May 25, 2011, 1:08 PM UTC

hobolobo wrote: post #15

An interesting question is whether this is merely a blip or part of a trend. Apple's user base must be an enormously tempting target for malware creators.

To answer this question, we'd need to know whether various things will change in the future:

Will criminals stop wanting to scam people?

Will non-technical users somehow get more savvy?

Will the Apple userbase get smaller and thus less lucrative?

Re: Apple acknowledges Mac Defender malware, promises update

#17

Post by tptacek » Wed, May 25, 2011, 3:27 PM UTC

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #9

tptacek wrote: post #3

Malware is so rare on the Mac that Apple set up an entire web page to deal with the one trojan currently known to be impacting Mac users. Macs aren't more secure than Windows machines, but they're still undeniably safer (at least for normal people).

What browser or operating system can you, by simply clicking an image in Google Images, have an installer pop up basically just waiting for a password to have malware everywhere? I don't really buy the claim that OS X is intrinsically more secure than Windows these days.

That's good, because nobody made that claim.

Re: Apple acknowledges Mac Defender malware, promises update

#18

Post by tptacek » Wed, May 25, 2011, 3:33 PM UTC

demetris wrote: post #10

tptacek wrote: post #3

Malware is so rare on the Mac that Apple set up an entire web page to deal with the one trojan currently known to be impacting Mac users. Macs aren't more secure than Windows machines, but they're still undeniably safer (at least for normal people).

“Malware is so rare on the Mac that Apple set up an entire web page to deal with the one trojan currently known to be impacting Mac users.” I read that and I thought Apple had set up a top-level page. I then saw it is an article in Apple’s knowledge base. As far as I know, this is the same thing Microsoft does for distinguished malware: articles in the knowlegde base. E.g., here is an old one for Blaster: http://supp…

Blaster wasn't a trojan; it was a worm that actively compromised Windows machines, took out entire huge enterprises (including major military networks), hit the front page of CNN, and (IIRC) prompted a Congressional inquiry about regulating software security.

Not exactly apples/apples.

Re: Apple acknowledges Mac Defender malware, promises update

#19

Post by drivebyacct2 » Wed, May 25, 2011, 3:41 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #17

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What browser or operating system can you, by simply clicking an image in Google Images, have an installer pop up basically just waiting for a password to have malware everywhere? I don't really buy the claim that OS X is intrinsically more secure than Windows these days.

That's good, because nobody made that claim.

Safer, more secure, what's the practical difference here? I'm tired of the implication that OS X is inherently more secure. I have yet to see anything to indicate that is true, especially when considering the, albeit still slow, growth of malware in OS X as market share has increased.

Honestly, for a user that is not using Internet Explorer, I can't imagine a workflow nearly as dangerous as is possible with Safari. It's not hard to be safe in Windows these days.

Re: Apple acknowledges Mac Defender malware, promises update

#20

Post by tptacek » Wed, May 25, 2011, 4:09 PM UTC

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #19

tptacek wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's good, because nobody made that claim.

Safer, more secure, what's the practical difference here? I'm tired of the implication that OS X is inherently more secure. I have yet to see anything to indicate that is true, especially when considering the, albeit still slow, growth of malware in OS X as market share has increased. Honestly, for a user that is not using Internet Explorer, I can't imagine a workflow nearly as dangerous as is possible with Safari. I…

This is the second time now you've "refuted" the argument that OS X is "more secure", which is interesting because nobody made that argument

A Food & Liquor on Chicago's West Side is more secure than a 7-11 in suburban Kennilworth. You have to pass your money through a little slot in a bulletproof glass window!

The 7-11 is safer. Nobody ever sticks it up.

This is not a complicated point.

I'm glad you're happy with Windows security. I'm pretty impressed with it too. But I'm biased, having worked with them professionally on it in the past.