Re: What's the big deal about Mac and viruses...

In article <t6DPf.20$dc4.929@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Oxford <colalovesosx@xxxxxxx> wrote:

Uhh... I don't think there is such a thing as a virus-proof OS. In
fact, I'm pretty sure it's only a matter of time before the first OS X
virus appears on OS X. (although it's been five years ow...)

incorrect. OSX is virus proof since there is technically no way it can
spread beyond "1" machine. So your assumption is wrong. We'll be here 5,
10 years later and there still will be no viruses all do to the fact of
how OSX is implemented.

This is a more complicated subject than this discussion is revealing.
Let me attempt to throw a bit of light on it.

1) Clearly and undeniably Mac OS X is incredibly better designed,
especially with regards to security, than Windows. If you want an
illustration beyond the obvious (namely comparing the number of knows
exploits in Windows versus Mac OS X, as well as documented
vulnerabilities) then check out Windows Vista. Guess what Vista security
is all about? It is all about attempting to catch up with Mac OS X 10.4
Tiger. Do your homework, check out all the notes and reviews about
Vista, and see what I mean.

What happens an application (including viruses) run for the first time
on Windows? They just run. What happens on Mac OS X? The operating
system STOPS that application and informs you that it is starting. It
then asks you if you really want it to run for the first time. Obviously
there will be wetware error overcoming this security strategy, no matter
the OS. But this is head over heals better than what is in XP, and MS
are copying it from Apple and putting it into Vista, (just as they have
done their best to copy everything else they can lay their hands on from
Apple over the last 22 years).

2) It is INCORRECT to say "OSX is virus proof since there is technically
no way it can spread beyond "1" machine."

We already have a proof-of-concept worm that can spread itself,
admittedly with the help of wetware error, across a LAN using Bonjour
over iChat. (BTW: Wetware = you and me, the computer users).

3) However, it may well be true that there will be no such thing as a
real, bonafide, Internet viable virus for Mac OS X. Every single piece
of malware we have seen for Mac OS X has required 'social engineering'
or wetware error in order to even get on the machine! And once it gets
there it requires further wetware error to become installed. This is NOT
true 'virus' behavior. This is trojan horse malware behavior. This may
be the limit of MOSX malware we are going to see, ever! But never say
never.

4) Nothing is perfect, especially software engineering. As usual, I
believe we are in the computer stone age. SW engineering is a bloody
mess, incredibly clunky, complicated, slow and difficult. Increasingly,
be design, SW engineering makes use of reusable code. If that legacy
code is crap then everything thereafter is crap as well. Going back and
removing the crap requires enormous resources.

The most expensive resource is this nebulous concept called the 'Man
Hour' where it takes a 'typical' human an hour to perform a specified
amount of work. Humans are expensive to employ, and pouring over,
cleaning up old crap code is pure drudgery. Check out what has happened
with Windows Vista:
(A) It is outrageously late, and its first release will be missing reams
of features that were originally promised. The actual COMPLETE release
of Vista is still at least a couple years off. This is incredibly
pathetic. Yes, Microsoft have NEVER been brilliant at coding. They are
imitators, code tweakers, buyers and bullies. They have originated
almost no software themselves. I'll skip the multitude of examples as
that is not my point. They point is that they have hampered themselves
by not having the best coders, despite hype to the contrary, resulting
in an incredibly slow effort revamping old Windows code in order to
create Vista.
(B) The results in Vista are still riddled with crap code. Witness the
WMF bug that has been buried in Windows for well over a decade. The
existence of this legacy crap code in Windows Vista lead to it already
having a security update before it has actually been released.

5) It is real easy to ignore them, but Mac OS X does have regularly
discovered vulnerabilities. Some of them, such as the ability to hide an
application in the guise of an image, are remarkably stupid. Any dope
can imitate this strategy and let loose a MOSX trojan horse on the
world. Thankfully MOSX is designed to minimize the damage such a trojan
is capable of doing, and limits its ability to spread elsewhere.
Nonetheless, it would be ideal of these sorts of vulnerabilities were
impossible.

6) It is important for Mac users to become security savvy in order to
prevent the spread of any malware, should something viable in the wild
actually appear. My very very best advice, if you only do one single
thing, is: MAKE A BACKUP. Do it daily, keep a copy on site and another
off site. It will save your *** every time. Other forms of security may
well be considered critical, but they are secondary to a backup.


Share and Enjoy!

:-Derek

--
Fortune Magazine, 11-29-05: What's your computer setup today?
Frederick Brooks: I happily use a Macintosh. It's not been equalled for ease
of use, and I want my computer to be a tool, not a challenge.
<http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/12/12/8363107/>
[Frederick Brooks is the author of 'The Mythical Man Month'. He spearheaded
the movement to modernize computer software engineering in 1975]
.

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