McAfee ships VirusScan for Mactel 8.0

McAfee today announced anti-virus support for Intel-based Macs. McAfee VirusScan for Mactel 8.0 runs under Apple's Rosetta emulator to help protect Mac users from Macintosh and Windows-based viruses, Trojans and other malicious threats. According to McAfee Avert Labs, Mac platform vulnerabilities have increased more than 228 percent since 2003 due to the rising popularity of Apple's consumer products, notably the iPod media devices and iTunes media services. While the Mac OS X operating system still remains safer than Windows-based platforms, the rapid growth in critical vulnerabilities has forged the need for a more proactive approach to keep systems secure, especially in heterogeneous work environments. McAfee VirusScan for Mactel is designed to detect, block and clean infected emails and attachments, keeping systems free from these threats. It is now available worldwide and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later. (Pricing not available.)

"The availability of Mac exploit code on the Internet makes it an open target for the same types of malware currently plaguing the Windows world," said Eric Winsborrow, vice president of product marketing, McAfee, Inc. "As more companies deploy Mac systems running on the Intel platform in mixed environments, the risk of infection will most likely increase. With McAfee VirusScan for Mactel, administrators can deploy systems on the new Mac Intel platform with the assurance that they are steps ahead of future security threats."

McAfee VirusScan for Mactel utilizes the McAfee scan engine for complete, on-access virus protection for Macintosh systems, stopping virus and malicious code threats, including hidden threats buried in archives and other compressed file types. The solution is centrally managed by McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator 3.5 and 3.6 (ePO), enabling businesses to manage all of their McAfee security solutions from one central interface, which helps them save time and money, as well as ensure a consistent security policy across all computers.

Mac OS X Malware on the rise

Echoing several other reports, the company also released key findings from McAfee Avert Labs demonstrating that malware attacks targeting Mac OS X are on the rise.

"Many believe that using the Mac OS X operating system is a form of security in itself, believing that they are far less susceptible to malware than Windows users," said Stuart McClure, senior vice president, global threats at McAfee. "And while the threats targeting the Mac operating system are low in volume, the use of Apple products does not provide an invisibility cloak from malware, and users need to be more vigilant about security as adoption rates soar and attacks on Apple operating systems increase."

According to McAfee Avert Labs, which claims to be one of the top-ranked security threat and research organizations in the world, Mac platform vulnerability discovery rates have increased by 228 percent in the past three years alone, from 45 found in 2003 to 143 in 2005.

Geoff Coats, a graphic designer at New Orleans design firm Zande Newman, admits that he chose Apple and Mac OS X because he believed it to be more secure than Microsoft Windows. "My experience, and that of many other small-to-medium sized business owners, has taught me that Apple delivers a much more secure computing environment. However, I've recently realized that it might be time to re-evaluate that assumption and begin protecting my Mac from outside threats."

Key research findings from McAfee Avert Labs

From 2003 to 2005, the annual rate of vulnerability discovery on Apple's Mac OS platform has increased by 228 percent, compared to Microsoft's products which only saw a 73 percent increase.

As demonstrated with its recent patches, Apple's Mac OS platform is just as vulnerable to targeted malware attacks as other operating systems.

Apple's success with consumer products and its resulting higher profile will entice security researchers and hackers to target Mac OS and other Apple products, such as iTunes and iPods.

Rising popularity makes Apple a target

Though Microsoft's massive market share makes its platform the preferred path to hacker stardom, and Apple's customer base does not yet provide an overwhelmingly attractive target for profit-motivated malware professionals, McAfee warns that Apple users should not be complacent about their security. Apple's recent shift to using Intel microprocessors in new Macs only raises Apple's profile further and increases its customers' exposure, according to McAfee, and as Apple's Macintosh computers gain ground in the PC market on the coattails of its popular iPod and iTunes consumer products, McAfee believes that hackers will increasingly point their digital "lock picks" toward Mac OS X and other products.

Availability of exploit code problematic

Apple appears to be in the earlier stages of malware evolution, where exploits are written and spread as proofs-of-concept to demonstrate authors' technical prowess and to garner notoriety, according to the anti-virus firm. McAfee believes that this incentive, coupled with the easy availability of Mac exploit code on the internet, will make the Mac an open target for malware. Although the number of Mac OS X-targeted viruses has been relatively low in total volume since January of 2004, McAfee Avert Labs predicts that the growing number of Macintosh vulnerabilities will attract more and more talented hackers over the course of the next year and beyond.

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