Will Intel Macs be vulnerable?

[pmbooks]

Is it just the Windoze OS that's the target of the majority of virus attacks, or will the Intel inside make Macs more succeptible?

[belvdr]

The OS and applications are what cause the vulnerabilities. The architecture has nothing to do with it.

[mkrishnan]

Some people claim that the x86 processor family is more susceptible to buffer overflow exploits than the PPC family is. I don't understand all the details myself, but the basic idea is that in many cases the core issue of security vulnerabilities is that under certain situations, data that is supposed to be "information," but not "code," in that it is put in a place where executable code is not supposed to reside (i.e. inside a graphic file, or whatever), is allowed to act as code. The buffer overrun issue appears to be an area where a number of these exploit possibilities exist.

You can see more in this thread:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=134119&highlight=intel+x86+security+overflow

[belvdr]

Yeah, but if I run Darwin on x86 or PPC, it doesn't matter. The OS is handling the memory allocation and such.

[BornAgainMac]

Any evidence supporting this claim with Linux on Intel? Perhaps there is a fact sheet posted on Microsoft's website.

Fictional site: www.microsoft.com/security=intelsfault.asp

[Mikael]

The NX bit in AMD K8 CPUs and Execute Disable bit in Intel CPUs are there to prevent buffer overflow exploits.

http://www.intel.com/business/bss/infrastructure/security/xdbit.htm

[mkrishnan]

The NX bit in AMD K8 CPUs and Execute Disable bit in Intel CPUs are there to prevent buffer overflow exploits.

http://www.intel.com/business/bss/infrastructure/security/xdbit.htm

Thank you for the link! :)

So it says it's on the Pentium 4 line, and I'm assuming it's on the Pentium M as well? Is it on current Celerons?

Interesting that it is not supported by the latest Win2k. I guess that actually is one of the first relevant reasons to upgrade to XP! :eek: :o

[wasimyaqoob]

I read an article that said that Intel chips are more likely to attract hackers, because in order for the chips to work properly, Mac have to recode the OS therefore causing a loop hole which hackers can use - Only something I read but if its true, who knows?