Friday, April 6, 2012

Apple: Macs Infected By Malware, Time For Apple To Educate Users More Seriously

First let me see I’m an Apple fan.  I would not go to the point of labeling myself a fanboy because I don’t get everything that is Apple. I like to have a good balance of Apple branded and non-Apple branded tech.  Over all, I’m just a mobile fan.  So, I say this next thing because it needs to be said.


Apple, you have to do more about security for the Mac.  Lately, there have been rumors cropping up about Trojan horses that have infected at least half a million Macs (luckily, my Macs are fine, as are my PCs).  In the past, I would have dismissed such talks as fear mongering by anti-virus app sellers that want to expand their reach into the Mac market.  For the most part, it’s the PCs that needed protection in the past and Mac users have largely require very little protection from viruses and other malware.

That was in the past.  Today, Macs are flourishing in the PC market and it’s a larger and more tempting target for hackers.

In the most recent incident, more than half a million Macs are rumored to be infected by a rojan called Flashback.  According to a Russian virus maker (yeah, yeah, I know…), even Macs on Apple’s campus were compromised. Apple has released a Java update but has yet to say a word about it.

Perhaps, Apple will eventually find a way for sandboxing like they do with the iPhones and iPads that will negate or roll back the need for malware protection.  Until that day comes, which could be as soon as the latest OS X Mountain Lion is released this summer, it’s prudent for Apple to be more active in protecting users.  It could be more frequent updates like they just did with Java, app updates like Safari, or  

Still, I do hope that Apple become more vocal about the seriousness of Internet security and educate its users about it.

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