Mac OS X inherently secure, hackers not interested

MacNN ^ | 10/24/2005

[Panerai]

Mac OS X ping

[Izzy Dunne]

attackers' lack of interest in an operating system whose share of the market is in single digits.

Again, I would point out that there are viruses for freaking CELL PHONES, where the number of units in the field is 1% of the Mac population.

If it was based on sheer numbers, why would that be true?

[BoBToMatoE]

Not that I dont believe that Macs are not a good platform - the reality is that punks dont create hacks for Mac because there are so few.

Why work hard to develop a virus or attack on a platform with few users when you can do the same ammount of work (maybe less) for an OS that can hit hundreds of times worse?

[BostonianRightist]

Wow. So in case any hacker was uninterested in this OS, your skills have now been officially challenged.

[TommyDale]

Mac users: "Mac OS cannot be hacked!"

99% of hackers: "What's a Mac?"

[Smogger]

Again, I would point out that there are viruses for freaking CELL PHONES.

A cellphone virus is an elite hack. Mac OS X is a snoozer.

[SlowBoat407]

Why work hard to develop a virus or attack on a platform with few users when you can do the same ammount of work (maybe less) for an OS that can hit hundreds of times worse?

All the more reason for conviction of hacking crimes to carry mandatory castration - not that it would affect their lives much.

[va4me]

the reality is that punks dont create hacks for Mac because there are so few.

The mac platform is inherently more secure due to its basic design, processes need specific user permission to do the things that are easily done by any application in windows.

I'd recommend anyone looking at the security aspects of the Mac platform read Winn Schwartau's blog at: http://securityawareness.blogspot.com/2005/09/mad-as-hell-switching-to-mac-1-16.html, and you'll understand why so many network security professionals have switched to Mac.

[Leroy S. Mort]

Steve Jobs should announce a prize for the best hack of OS X. Maybe an iPod and a years subscription to iTunes. But iDigress.....

[Billthedrill]

Yeh. Anyone stupid enough to announce publicly that his OS is unhackable will either be hacked within a week or already has been.

[Uri’el-2012]

Mac OSX

[SengirV]

And in other news - The sky is blue and the Earth is round.

[SengirV]

PLEASE, this has been stated time and time again for YEARS, with no ill effect.

[Barney59]

Funny, I was just off the phone with a buddy who's on WINDOWS XP (I'm on a Mac and have been for years now)... Poor fellow was trying to just launch an application that would allow him the simple task of uploading files to my server (FTP)...

We finally gave up, the unintuitiveness and ridiculous complexity required by the windows interface prompted him to just send me the images via CD/FedEx...

You know Windows users are very gung ho about their OS and it's nerdy world, but give me a machine that let's me WORK on the tasks at hand versus trying to FIGURE OUT HOW to do something any-day...

Simplicity in interface means progress on your tasks...

[TommyDale]

Give me something that I can actually find applications for.

[PissAndVinegar]

"ridiculous complexity required by the windows interface"

So what threw you - the 2nd & 3rd mouse buttons or the lack of the 'splat' key?

[TommyDale]

"...why so many network security professionals have switched to Mac."

Can you cite some statistics? I don't know anyone in the professions outside of artists, desktop publishers or musicians who use them.

[phugg]

A Mac user worrying about getting hacked is like Helen Thomas worrying about getting an STD. It can happen, but it's not likely.

[RogueIsland]

Poor fellow was trying to just launch an application that would allow him the simple task of uploading files to my server (FTP)... We finally gave up, the unintuitiveness and ridiculous complexity required by the windows interface prompted him to just send me the images via CD/FedEx...

Odd, I run Filezilla on XP every freakin' day and have no problem with it.