Google Switches Away from Windows (Mostly to Mac) Due to Security Concerns

[Westside guy]

Um... I wonder how they will continue to write software for the 90% of the world using Windows. You kinda need Windows to test IE.

VMware Fusion or Parallels works fine for this. Heck, so does VirtualBox.

Testing your own website(s) against IE has very little to do with allowing your employees to use IE for their day to day browsing.

 

[backdraft]

I guess Google will be running Windows in a VM from now on unless they plan on halting Windows versions of Chrome, Google Earth, etc...

Though they could re-write them in Java lol

 

[cvaldes]

As the Mac market share increases, so will its allure to the hackers....

It probably needs to reach 25-30% before it really becomes of interest. I don't know if it will get there.

Why would a hacker spend so much time/energy to learn a new system to have potentially marginally returns? Now, I'm not saying that Mac users should be complacent and ignorant about the risks of being on the Internet, but it appears that the bad guys will continue to rely on social engineering vulnerabilities more than actual code failures for the time being (e.g., "phishing" attacks).

 

[rockdog]

My friend who wears a tinfoil hat just told me that this is a nice piece of industrial sabotage work by Google against Apple.

He says that by making this announcement they hope to make Apple a target of various factions such as hackers, script kiddies, the Chinese Government, Microsoft engineers, etc., you know, the 'bad people'.

Clever Google, but my friend is on to you!

 

[John.B]

The lost desktop licenses are trival to Microsoft, it's the bad PR that will cause chairs to be thrown.

 

[Digitalclips]

Well, that will make some Apple salesperson's month.

Now we know what SJ and ES were talking about at Starbucks a while back. SJ was probably the salesman in this deal.

 

[backdraft]

Chrome OS is not ready for prime time. It's a glorified browser with popup alerts to manage files.

why not chrome os. now wouldn’t that seem logical

 

[cvaldes]

why not chrome os. now wouldn’t that seem logical

Is Chrome OS a production-caliber operating system? Ready for a wide variety of non-technical end users?

We know that technical users can load some bizarre beta of some godforsaken operating system that no one elese will see the light of day, but we're talking about a wide variety of employees, many of whom are non-technical.

Is Google's Accounts Payable department ready for Chrome OS? Marketing? Payroll? Human Resources? Staffing? Stock Admin?

 

[johnnymg]

msft is going to get punked on Tuesday.

 

[Zc456]

Ouch. Not a good day for Microsoft.

Security is not the reason they are dumping Windows. They do not want Bill Gates to steal the cloud applications that they are developing. These cloud apps and systems will end Gates' domination of personnel computing. PC software will become a thing of the past. You will access your software via the cloud network. Gates and those at Microsoft are already hearing the footsteps of their conqueror. Google may well feel that Microsoft is using Windows to spy on their work.

.... What?

 

[johnnymg]

It probably needs to reach 25-30% before it really becomes of interest. I don't know if it will get there.

Why would a hacker spend so much time/energy to learn a new system to have potentially marginally returns? Now, I'm not saying that Mac users should be complacent and ignorant about the risks of being on the Internet, but it appears that the bad guys will continue to rely on social engineering vulnerabilities more than actual code failures for the time being (e.g., "phishing" attacks).

15% is the tipping point for mass adoption. Apple has passed that point in the US and the rest will be history.

cheers to the longs
JohnG

 

[rockosmodurnlif]

I think that you mean Chrome OS

http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-chrome-operating-system.html

Chrome OS works by having all its applications in "the cloud".

Eventually this is what Google is wanting to be able to do. Docs, Email, Picassa etc everything in the cloud with no core apps on your desktop just a fast link to their services direct from their OS. (monopoly??)

Wait, wasn't this what Sun Microsystems was all about?

 

[NSMonkey]

This is overkill. Switching an entire OS because of one security flaw? There have been plenty of flaws in IE before so why choose now? Has to be some PR reason behind it.

Actually, it's been common knowledge in infosec circles for quite a while that one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to increase security is to dump Windows and switch to Macs. Google is certainly wealthy enough to switch en masse and they're already supporting a ton of Macs, so this makes perfect sense from a security standpoint. No PR conspiracy required.

 

[cvaldes]

15% is the tipping point for mass adoption. Apple has passed that point in the US and the rest will be history.

cheers to the longs
JohnG

Apple is far from 15% for global adoption. I don't know if it'll ever happen.

Ask me again in five years.

 

[Aldaris]

Wait a minute... What future does google want?

 

[nagromme]

Apple & Google is getting to be a pretty interesting mix of competition, collaboration, and interdependence! Hopefully, in the end, good for both of them—and for us users.

 

[ranReloaded]

Great! Now the chinese/russians are going to devote resources to coding Mac viruses!

 

[scotty321]

So will this make Mac OS X a big enough target for the vulnerability exploiters?

Stop perpetuating such a ridiculous myth. Mac OS 9 had many viruses, and Mac OS 9 had just a tiny fraction of the people using it that use Mac OS X today.

 

[amac4me]

Chalk up some more switchers!

 

[cvaldes]

Wait a minute... What future does google want?

Google wants to own search.

Just like they do now. They are the world's largest online ad agency. They seem to be fine with that.

 

[jimmyjoemccrow]

Stop perpetuating such a ridiculous myth. Mac OS 9 had many viruses, and Mac OS 9 had just a tiny fraction of the people using it that use Mac OS X today.

Before virus writing became a big money earner.

Actually, it's been common knowledge in infosec circles for quite a while that one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to increase security is to dump Windows and switch to Macs. Google is certainly wealthy enough to switch en masse and they're already supporting a ton of Macs, so this makes perfect sense from a security standpoint. No PR conspiracy required.

Yawn, no it's not common knowledge. Only in the Apple flag waving circles.

 

[ranReloaded]

I bet they'll buy a batch of Mac minis and reuse all their existing Dell LCDs/Mice... Cost Cut Big Time!

 

[JAT]

I wish my company would do this. We're still stuck with proprietary IE6 software, however. From outside, so....

 

[djwobble]

This is going to be a good thing.

 

[ranReloaded]

Stop perpetuating such a ridiculous myth. Mac OS 9 had many viruses, and Mac OS 9 had just a tiny fraction of the people using it that use Mac OS X today.

No one is saying it is market share alone. Of course OS X is more secure than OS9, and I believe it is overall much more secure than Windows. But no system is 100% secure, provided you dedicate enough resources to cracking it. You need an incentive... and that's where market share kicks in.