Riva Richmond, in the New York Times’ “Gadgetwise Blog:”
But just how relaxed (or smug) should Mac users be? It’s true that very few viruses have been written for Macs — and none are spreading actively right now. Similarly, hacker programs distributed by malicious Web sites typically run only on PCs.
Yet Macs’ relative safety is primarily due to their still-slim market share. They’re simply a waste of time for today’s attackers, who are trying to accomplish crime on a large scale by infiltrating millions of computers. And there’s nothing inherently more secure about a Mac. Researchers found 26 vulnerabilities in OS X in 2008, about the same as in Windows Vista (27), according to the security software maker Symantec. If its market share rises enough, the Mac will become a target and attacks will succeed.
Riva’s right, sorta. Apple’s marketshare is one of the things that keeps them safe. And there are security flaws in OS X and in Safari - just like every other OS and browser.
But here’s what Riva doesn’t understand - OS X is inherently safer than Windows because OS X won’t let a program install itself. In OS X, the user has to provide an administrator password to install applications.
The iWork Trojan got around this by piggy-backing on a normal install - using the password entered by the user to slip by with non-harmful files. It’s a classic trojan horse, and exploits Macs without their users even knowing, even though they’re watching it as it get installed.
This is how OS X attacks in the future will have to work to get around OS X’s security measures. And those measures will always be there, no matter how big Apple’s market share gets.
So, Riva, I’m willing to be relaxed - even smug - about my machines being the safest around.