*sigh*. More idiocy in the press
Security analysts: Mac attacks rare but may rise
"Apple computers have long been prized for being relatively virus-free. But as more people use Apple products, experts say the company is increasingly becoming a target for cyber pranksters and criminals writing viruses and other forms of malware.
"The threat was highlighted earlier this week after a handful of the company's iPods were shipped with the RavMonE.exe virus, which targeted iPods used with Microsoft Windows-based computers."
Okay, so ostensibly an article talking about virus and malware attacks on the Mac starts out by referring to a Windows virus on the iPod? That's just stupid. It also implies that "cyber pranksters and criminals" are targeting Apple when there's no evidence to suggest that in this case; just that Apple's manufacturing company for those iPods was careless and didn't have up-to-date virus eradication software installed.
"Oliver Friedrichs, director of security response at Symantec, a leading anti-virus software vendor, said 72 vulnerabilities were discovered in the Mac's OS X operating system in 2006, up from 19 in 2004."
72 vulnerabilities is very different than 72 virus or malware attempts; "vulnerabilities" can be defined as any problem in the code that's able to be exploited. The vast majority of these are academic, at best, and have never been seen "in the wild" as exposing users to any kind of problem.
There's also no mention made of Apple's attempts to close those vulnerabilities by offering regular security updates to its operating system software.
One reason Apple has so far been shielded from nasty code is because its market share is relatively small.
"Security through obscurity" is one theory often touted by "experts," but it's only a theory -- there's no way to prove it (or the contrary). To assert it as incontrovertible fact is irresponsible.
But perhaps a bigger reason for Apple's seemingly safe position is the stability of Mac OS X.
Well, it's about time you got your head out of your ass, Hargreaves. Good job.