Apple (AAPL) faces hacker threat

Articles such as this one are completely uninformed. In windows, the spyware can install itself. The fact simply not referenced here is that in order for these malware programs to affect macs, the user must install the programs. Now, although it's possible it the malware was advertised as some other program, it is much more secure than windows. Simply put: you can put a lock on every door in a house, but they have no effect when you let someone inside.

Blogs written by non technical people like this are a dime a dozen. They are blindly following the press releases from the likes of Patrik Runald, an F-Secure security researcher who has "nothing to gain" if people and companies have to hire him and his company to assess the threats to their Mac's.
Please...

My apple computer was being accessed from apache netscape. Apples have 2 systems running os 9 os 10 they access through os 9. You can't tell.

Look for this type of access data on your hard drive. They store things they don't want on there
computer for them access when you on the net. also look for "sub net data" deleting this could unlink there access.

They sometimes create domain names.

I've had house drawings craft drawings taken.
things like error code info put on my computer.

I've had house drawings craft drawings taken.
things like error code info put on my computer.

They can also access things an store info that could effect how you presence looks on the net when personal info is collect via "add ware" or
"spy ware."

keep important data on a separate 2 or 4 gig device for long surfs on the web. account info and email address book is better kept on paper.

If you ask tech support of you isp ask there full name first and if you get the run around report
them to your ISP.

They do things like store data or take data from your storage devices.

They also use things like The " buddy list" on aol informs them when your on the net.

One or two in two years, huh? And I have to go download AND install a "free codec" from a porn site in order to acquire said malware. And these 150 variants? Where are they exactly, in F-Secure's lab? Tell us.

Oh, and your "security through obscurity" myth, again? How many times will that be repeated & debunked before it goes away? You think that a virus writer wouldn't just love to be the very first to successfully write a Mac virus? The 8% market share of the Mac does present a smaller target than Windows, that's true, but think of how many virus writers would just love to get THAT feather in their cap and stick it to us smug Mac users.

Most people who read your blog don't take the time to do a little research to find out the true stories behind the ever-increasing sensationalist headlines proclaiming that Macs are getting viruses right & left. I do. And there are none. Nada. Ziltch. A rare Trojan here and there, perhaps, but no self-installing or self-propagating anything. (The latest Mac hit-piece: Several Mac sites were hacked and their web pages altered. That made the tech news everywhere. Turned out to be a hoax, and no retractions printed anywhere, to my knowledge.) One common denominator is present in all this Mac malware FUD - the "security expert" who is quoted is always affiliated with an anti-virus vendor. What your readers need to realize is that F-secure would love to peddle their anti-everything stuff to a wider market (i.e., Mac users), and what better way to get the ball rolling than to announce 150 imagined "variants" of some Trojan to make it seem like the Mac sky is falling.

Keep trying, cause the sky is still blue.

Disclaimer: I have used Windows all my life, but my next computer purchase will definitely be a Mac.

***The Mac OS remains fundamentally more secure than Windows will ever be, NOT because of its limited market share, but because of the security and stability of the UNIX platform it is built upon.

You have presented a totally incorrect interpretation of the facts from the story you selectively quoted.

You say things like "Windows... is constantly fending off bugs" and then based on the story you quoted, you conclude that "Now Apple will have to spend a lot of programmer time working on hacks the same way that Microsoft does."

This statement implies that the increase in malware targeted at Macs that is the subject of the article you quoted is due to bugs or vulnerabilities in the Mac operating system.

***This statement is a misrepresentation of the actual facts reported in the F-Secure article that you referenced. According to the F-Secure article, the increase in malware targeted at Macs is the work of a single group, who DOES NOT target vulnerabilities in the Mac OS. From the article (which apparently you either did not read or did not understand):

"the jump in attacks against Apple appeared to be the work of a single gang of professional hackers. The group, known in security circles as the “Zlob gang”, makes programs that infect PCs by tricking users into thinking they are installing software needed to view copyrighted video files."

So, what you have presented as a big increase in malware targeting Macs is actually the work of ONE SINGLE GROUP. That group DOES NOT TARGET VULNERABILITIES in the Mac OS, but rather tricks foolish users into downloading and installing the malware. Any OS, no matter how secure, can always be brought down by a user with Administrative privileges (which are required to install any software on a Mac). There is a reason that the Administrator password must be entered before software (even this malware) is installed. With Windows, all users are Administrator level by default, and no password is required to install and run malware.

Apples have two programs running os 9 an os 10.
they access your computer with things like netscape apache with the program running in the background.

They use things like the "buddy list" to tell them when your on the net.

They take an store data on your computer.
they sometimes create "sub net" data to connect
your storage device to many computers.

Use a removable storage device for creative info.
use the lockable folders provided with newer ver.
of os 10 to store applications preventing software form being stoled, damaged

account info an email addresses should be kept on paper.

They get your IP address from social type
gatherings.

they place data on your computer that could
cause a false presence, representation when
personal data, marketing info is taken with
"ad ware.", "spy ware."

I've had drawings of houses an aircraft taken.

Thom,
Whatever point you were trying is so completely lost in the ozone.
Whatever you are saying made no sense at all.

None...

At all...

Maybe a rethink and a rewrite is in order.

Hey,
Any downloads are risky.
Viruses,spyware are everywhere,ready to destroy your PC.Not just in Apple apps.
http://www.net-ebooks.com
http://www.ebooks-downloads.com

For God's sake.. another ignorant publishes a blog about Apple! And he's an editor for 247 LOL...

Does he use a Mac? I wonder if he even owns a Mac.. I think it should be a prerequisite for anyone trying to write about Apple actually OWN one!

Do a proper research Douglas! Stick with the loan delinquency! LOL

Throughout the media today I have read the "because so few people used [Macs], they were not an attractive target for hackers" stories.

The thing is, even though Macs had a small market share, they used to have viruses, just like windows.

Then Apple created OSX and things changed.

So, it is wrong to assume that a small user base is the reason that Macs are virus free.