Apple security attitude

Apple has changed its attitude towards viruses and malware on the Mac, claims security firm Intego. Apple last year issued an advice statement admitting that "since no system can be 100 percent immune from every threat, antivirus software may offer additional protection." In announcing more features of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Intego notes that Apple has taken a more stringent approach, for instance implementing code changes like sandboxing, library randomization and execute disables; each limits the potential damage of an outside threat.

In the past Apple has been comparatively dismissive of Mac security problems, sometimes issuing a patch weeks or months after the disclosure of an exploit. Some "Get a Mac" TV ads have implied that only Windows systems face serious attacks; the company has had to reverse course, however, in part because of malware like OSX Trojan.iServices, affecting pirated copies of iWork and Photoshop. Stability and security have been stated focuses of Snow Leopard, aside from multi-processing improvements.

by MacNN Staff