Mac Security In Spotlight

[g00k]

i am wether a ms fan nor an apple fan/hater.
both companies arent perfect. macs have weakpoints as well do ms have some (no surprise i guess).
so if u dont wanna hear than let me hear what u have to say.
what is so great about apple? (ur honest opinion please)
and why are all surprised that mac os fall as the first in the competition (that was no surprise as well).

 

[BongoBanger]

1. The Mac was exploited first, because that is the hardware everybody wanted.

Wrong. Read the article.

2. This exploit wouldn't have occurred without the human element

Correct, as for all the machines.

And even if either of the above weren't true, you have made no argument to make me switch to any of the other OS's.

Nobody's trying to. Personal choice is a wonderful thing.

I see the windows community is full of bitter, cocky, and immature users.

Perhaps, however they at least have reading comprehension skills which is more than can be said for some people, isn't it?

 

[g00k]

i am a ms user... and my xp prof. is running pretty well (yes ms can run without probs for years).
i guess ms user have more probs with their system.

lol cocky... look at the apple ads. i have never seen more cocky ads than these.

 

[vansouza]

well sorry for my poor written english.

still thats the reaction i expected.
ignoring the critism, which may be a bit exaggerated.
u guys really live on another planet i guess. every word i say against steve jobs u interpret it as heresy.
is it so hard to lend me an ear for just for a few seconds?

You joined the forum to give us your opinion. OK done. But don't expect us to prove your point by suddenly joining in lock step to march to your tune. I for one think you just missed the reality of the situation. Come back in a few years when the MS kool aid is out of "your" system.

 

[clevin]

I for one think you just missed the reality of the situation. Come back in a few years when the MS kool aid is out of "your" system.

do windows users have more M$ cool-aid in the system? or mac people has more apple cool-aid?

Very good question!

ever heard SJ's RDF?

 

[vansouza]

do windows users have more M$ cool-aid in the system? or mac people has more apple cool-aid?

Very good question!

ever heard SJ's RDF?

MS Kool-Aid is lime flavored and green; Apple Kool-Aid is apple flavored and not green. (I hate green drinks of any flavor). And the SJ RDF is lot limited to just His Steveness.

 

[em500]

What makes the MacBook Air more valuable than the Sony TZ37? The fact that you like it better?

The fact that you pay more money; I think that part is pretty self explanatory.

The base configuration TZ37 costs CAD 2299 in the Sony Store. The base configuration Air costs CAD 1899 in the Apple Store. But if you have more details about the configurations or more accurate prices, feel free to post them.

 

[UberGeek9]

Hmm, this is why I think all operating systems should be open source, because in a open source operating system, when a problem is discovered.. it is quickly fixed by the community. Don't get me wrong though I love OSX.

 

[Eraserhead]

Hmm, this is why I think all operating systems should be open source, because in a open source operating system, when a problem is discovered.. it is quickly fixed by the community. Don't get me wrong though I love OSX.

As has been mentioned before Webkit (aka Safari) IS open source, and the bug has already been fixed in that . It just needs some more testing before public non-beta release, just like in a fully open-source OS.

 

[3monkies]

Wrong. Read the article.



Correct, as for all the machines.



Nobody's trying to. Personal choice is a wonderful thing.



Perhaps, however they at least have reading comprehension skills which is more than can be said for some people, isn't it?

It was a "Read Between the Lines" kind of comment…*As the writer of that particular post I am afforded the luxury making such a statement. Oh yeah and you're a big poo poo head and my Dad can beat up you're Dad…

 

[gnasher729]

The base configuration TZ37 costs CAD 2299 in the Sony Store. The base configuration Air costs CAD 1899 in the Apple Store. But if you have more details about the configurations or more accurate prices, feel free to post them.

In other words, you will get twice as much for a used AirBook on eBay as you get for a used TZ37

 

[k2spitfire88]

One of the links on the first couple pages also pointed out that this hacker had it in for Apple and Mac OS X if I remember correctly. If he was out to get them, wouldnt he have gone for it first, even if their was something easier?

 

[Vanarak19]

if i remember correctly, Safari was hacked, leading to the OSX exploit.

OSX wasnt hacked directly.

that is getting more and more skewed. Just like the guy that did the hack, saw three machines, and probably wanted the MBA, so he hacked a bundled app inside of OSX.

how many exploits does IE have? has it had in the past?

how many for safari?

how many for windows?

now how many for just OSX?

where im going with this, OSX is still by far the least hacked/hackable out of all that. Sure it has holes, everything does.

@ the end of the day though, i still point my finger @ 99% of the user-base, mac or not. They are the security hole.

 

[BongoBanger]

*sigh*

The Air was hacked because the team thought that OSX would be the easiest target. Read their comments.

 

[chagla]

so, i am trying to understand the security of mac os x a little better here. pardon my ignorance.

how is it that folks hack it so that it runs on non-apple hardware? like osx86 project? and this recent revelation of osx on a Samsung Q1?
http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/16/os-x-made-to-run-on-a-samsung-q1-ultra-premium/

what am i to make of the osx security? it was my understanding that osx is crippled so it wouldn't run on non-apple hardware.


(although i really like to say to PC users, thiers can't run osx, but my mac can run windows.... )

 

[BongoBanger]

OSX can run through emulators on a non-Apple PC. They're commonly referred to as a 'Hackintosh'.

OSX as an OS is pretty secure, however, like all OS, it does have some vulnerabilities.

 

[rhett7660]

To me it is pretty simple.

A security issue was found, don't care how long it took to find, it was found, I don't care who found it it, it was found. I don't care what the freaking prize was for the above mentioned security issue. There is a security issue.

I don't care if you have a Mac for upteen years, on the current system there is a security issue.

Apple needs to fix the security issue and fix it fast (I have read that it has been fixed but is in testing, that doesn't help us). Apple needs to send the update out and be done with it.

I think it is irrelevent that it took only 2 minutes to do or that it took 6 months to do. It was done. Nuff said.

 

[FullSailMacUser]

Unbelievable

The hacker had certain conditions, and very specific scenarios. Good luck replicating these same details in the real world to hack a Mac. I was an avid Windows user about 2 years ago until I got a virus from the Microsoft site itself while downloading an update for Windows Media Player. Amazing they can't even secure their website. Most of you people who are pissed off, or disappointed, know nothing about the inner workings of a hacking career.
Do some research before posting please, because all major consumer reports websites, and companies have rated OS X the highest secure operating system and they have experts that research this stuff daily. Not to mention the fact Vista has over 1,000,000 lines of code that are only a few characters from being Mac code. Microsoft can't even design their own operating system.
In conclusion Unix (which is the basis for the Mac operating system) is the most secure of them all. The reason linux may appear more secure is because it is not as popular. The popularity of an operating system determines how vulnerable it is. Seriously you people that think you know all about this and want to bash mac, and praise windows have something wrong with you.

 

[BongoBanger]

The hacker had certain conditions, and very specific scenarios. Good luck replicating these same details in the real world to hack a Mac.

These were real world scenarios. Admittedly you'd have to be pretty stupid to fall for them but they're possible.

I was an avid Windows user about 2 years ago until I got a virus from the Microsoft site itself while downloading an update for Windows Media Player.

Sorry, not buying that one unless you give details.

Do some research before posting please, because all major consumer reports websites, and companies have rated OS X the highest secure operating system and they have experts that research this stuff daily.

Yes, we know. What's your point? It can still be compromised.

Not to mention the fact Vista has over 1,000,000 lines of code that are only a few characters from being Mac code. Microsoft can't even design their own operating system.

Really? Give us your in depth knowledge of kernel design and management then. Please, go on.

In conclusion Unix (which is the basis for the Mac operating system) is the most secure of them all. The reason linux may appear more secure is because it is not as popular.

Right. You do know that Linux and OSX can both trace their roots back to the Unix Time Sharing system, don't you?

Oops.

The popularity of an operating system determines how vulnerable it is.

Wait you just said Linux appears to be more secure because it's the least popular and now you're saying that it actually is for the same reasons.

Make up your mind already!

Seriously you people that think you know all about this and want to bash mac, and praise windows have something wrong with you.

You may actually want to read the topic before jumping in and making a total buffoon of yourself you know. Bit late now though I suppose.

 

[FullSailMacUser]

BongoBanger Here is a little information for you

In reference to every ridiculous comment you had here are a few responses. As for kernel design the communication between a Windows PC hardware and software can be traced to the exact kernel design in OS X, I am of course referring to the lawsuit of Apple versus Microsoft for this very situation of the stolen code. Their microkernel organization was a snapshot of the OS X competitor.
Second of all you want details on the virus I obtained. I have a Microsoft log report if you would like it let me know and I will email it you. Where after a 3 hour phone conversation with a Microsoft "expert" they could not determine where the compromise came from. They sent me a rebate for my "trouble" of course not enough to compensate for a laptop with a damage operating system with over 125 dlls were either deleted or destroyed. This is where I got rid of my last windows PC.
Plus, you should actually read my comments, of course I know Linux and OSX come from Unix time sharing, tis my point. The backbone is strong which does help for the few people who want to compromise a system, and believe me there are Linux hackers. WETA digital is a full Linux system, and people have tried to hack their systems before. However, why would a hacker spend time going into an operating system that only a select few use. It isn't worth their time so yes the popularity does play a huge part maybe if you actually read what I wrote you would have seen that point.
Now you have microsoft which STILL to this day runs their operating system with a DOS backbone, and if you are to oblivious to realize the instability of this outdated structure that isn't my fault.

So man if you want to discuss more computer knowledge bring it please. I can talk about kernal abstraction all day, and data replacement. As for me being a buffoon I'm just a 20 year old college student that happens to know the ins and outs of complex operating systems, maybe it's my family background with 40 years of programming history or my degree in infrastructure I got when I 17.

 

[BongoBanger]

In reference to every ridiculous comment you had here are a few responses. As for kernel design the communication between a Windows PC hardware and software can be traced to the exact kernel design in OS X, I am of course referring to the lawsuit of Apple versus Microsoft for this very situation of the stolen code. Their microkernel organization was a snapshot of the OS X competitor.

Are you referring to the lawsuit around the copyright infringement of GUI applications which Apple comprehensively lost or some other lawsuit? Just need to be clear here. If it's something else could you kindly point me in the direction of the lawsuit notes and the judicial ruling? Just so we can see what was actually decided you understand.

Second of all you want details on the virus I obtained. I have a Microsoft log report if you would like it let me know and I will email it you. Where after a 3 hour phone conversation with a Microsoft "expert" they could not determine where the compromise came from.

Right... so they couldn't determine where it came from yet you're sure it came from WM? OK.

Plus, you must be an idiot and should actually read my comments, of course I know Linux and OSX come from Unix time sharing, tis my point.

No it wasn't. Fortunately, not being an idiot, that was quite easy to spot.

The backbone is strong which does help for the few people who want to compromise a system, and believe me there are Linux hackers. WETA digital is a full Linux system, and people have tried to hack their systems before. However, why would a hacker spend time going into an operating system that only a select few use. It isn't worth their time so yes the popularity does play a huge part maybe if you actually read what I wrote you would have seen that point.

I did. You contradicted yourself probably because you were to busy ranting to make sense.

Now you have microsoft which STILL to this day runs their operating system with a DOS backbone, and if you are to oblivious to realize the instability of this outdated structure that isn't my fault.

XP did away with the DOS backbone years ago. win9x was the last revision to use it.

And you call other people idiots?

LOL!

So man if you want to discuss more computer knowledge bring it please. I can talk about kernal abstraction all day, and data replacement. As for me being a buffoon I'm just a 20 year old college student that happens to know the ins and outs of complex operating systems, maybe it's my family background with 40 years of programming history or my degree in infrastructure I got when I 17.

Except you actually don't. You really, really need to stop getting your 'facts' from Roughly Drafted.

 

[clevin]

I can talk about kernal abstraction all day, and data replacement. As for me being a buffoon I'm just a 20 year old college student that happens to know the ins and outs of complex operating systems, maybe it's my family background with 40 years of programming history or my degree in infrastructure I got when I 17.

is that supposed to be verifiable facts that support any false statement you made up?

 

[Jenks]

Another Mac versus Windows Discussion

Frankly this fight can last all day and night, but you know in the end it is all personal preference. I personally have Macs, a desktop, and a laptop. I use them for graphics work and 3d applications for the school I attend. I think they are great, and I love not having to have a virus protection software.
However, the great thing about having multiple OS's is having the choice. Along with Leopard I dual boot Linux Fedora on both my machines, because frankly there are things Linux does that Leopard doesn't. But all in all it just comes down to what works best for the user, can't we all just get along.