\u00a0The biggest vulnerability to Macintosh computers is the belief among their devoted users that Apple\u2019s superior operating system makes them immune to malware, experts say.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome Mac users have this perception that the Mac is free from hacks and that is completely wrong,\u201d said Zheng Bu, senior director of research for FireEye, which develops anti-malware products.<\/p>\n
Mac users, said Kevin Haley, Symantec director of product management for security response, \u201chave let their guard down.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the vast majority of malware is aimed at Windows operating systems, the growing market share of MacBooks and iMacs is making Apple computers a bigger target. In recent years, Macintosh computers have garnered about 20 percent of the U.S. consumer market, said Stephen Baker, the hardware analyst at the NPD Group. \u201cThey are gaining,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Macs going mainstream may be great for Apple\u2019s bottom line, but it also makes the Macintosh operating system a bigger target for hackers, experts say.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are seeing more and more Macs getting infected,\u201d Haley said.<\/p>\n
The first computer viruses actually were aimed at Apple computers, said Andrew Conway, a researcher at Cloudmark, which works on Internet security problems. \u201cBack in the day, the first virus appeared on Macs,\u201d which was more sophisticated than Microsoft Disk Operating System, or MS-DOS, he said. \u201cYou could write a virus on it, and you couldn\u2019t do that on DOS.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many Mac users have long assumed Apple\u2019s operating system, which is tightly knitted with the hardware the company also designs, has stronger security than Windows. Conway, though, said there is no way to prove that is true.<\/p>\n
While Apple is good about fixing its vulnerabilities, \u201cthe Mac hasn\u2019t come under the kind of attack we\u2019ve seen with the Windows PC,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Macintosh operating system is \u201cnot a super-system made by super-people,\u201d Conway added.<\/p>\n
What is certain is the Macintosh operating system is once again becoming attractive to hackers.<\/p>\n
Last year, the Flashback Trojan malware infected an estimated 600,000 Macs by appearing to be a browser plug-in but actually stole personal information. In February, Apple said Macs operated by Apple employees were infected with Java-related malware when they visited a software development website. The Cupertino, Calif., company did not disclose how many of its employees\u2019 computers were infected or when.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest threats to Mac users is third-party software, such as Java, a popular vehicle for cyber thieves to infect Windows and Mac machines by writing only one attack code. In such cases, simply visiting an infected website that exploits a Java vulnerability can enable malware to get onto a Mac, which is what happened with the Apple employees, Haley observed. He called it a \u201cdrive-by download.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this case, (infected) Java software was used to download malware onto machines,\u201d Haley said. \u201cYou would have no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adobe software is also another vehicle used by hackers to infect computers, Bu said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth Apple and Windows need to work closely with third-party (software makers) to make safer software,\u201d he said. \u201cThen they need to build a rapid process to quickly address issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
Haley said Mac users can also take steps to ensure they avoid malware traps. Perhaps the most important move is to quickly accept software updates from Apple and other vendors, such as Adobe, which often close security vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good idea not to ignore those,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cPeople are always good about computer security after they have been hit with malware.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five ways to make Macs safer:
\nAccept software updates from Apple and third-party vendors as soon as they become available. These often include security patches.
\nDo not click on unexpected attachments, even from email that appear to be from people you know.
\nDo not click on suspicious links.
\nBe careful about clicking on links on Facebook or Twitter from someone who appears to be a friend \u201coffering\u201d photos of you.
\nConsider using anti-virus protection software for Macintosh computers.<\/p>\n
SOURCE: Kevin Haley, Symantec director of product management for security response.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0The biggest vulnerability to Macintosh computers is the belief among their devoted users that Apple\u2019s superior operating system makes them immune to malware, experts say. \u201cSome Mac users have this perception that the Mac is free from hacks and that is completely wrong,\u201d said Zheng Bu, senior director of research for FireEye, which develops anti-malware […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[59,61],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21798"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21798\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.myewm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}