Less Than Perfect . . .

The title says it all: “Macs no longer immune to viruses, experts say”.

“Apple’s most recent wake-up call came last week, as a Southern California researcher reported seven new vulnerabilities. Tom Ferris said malicious Web sites can exploit the holes without a user’s knowledge, potentially allowing a criminal to execute code remotely and gain access to passwords and other sensitive information.

“Ferris said he warned Apple of the vulnerabilities in January and February and that the company has yet to patch the holes . . .”

Three months and counting, eh?

The issue here is not one of debating which OS is less vulnerable to viruses. The issue is what happens when a certain group thinks they’re immune to them when they’re not.

While viruses aren’t what they used to be in the PC world (I suspect a big part of the reason is “Why write viruses for free when you can get paid to write sleazeware, etc.”), and while there’s probably still a lot more completely unprotected Windows machines out there, some virus writers out there are clearly getting more tempted.

Bravado no doubt will be a good part of that, to do what cannot be done. And who is the most vulnerable to that? Those convinced it cannot be done.

Very recently, I spoke to someone who is interested in Apple because his daughter has one of their notebooks. Well, the way she describes it to him, I’m not sure who really build her machine: Apple or God. Maybe He’s the OEM.

For instance, “Apples never crash” (or do anything else bad). My reaction to that was to refer to bull post-digestion products, and then I get this sly you’re-not-in-the-secret smile.

The most vulnerable people are those who think they’re invulnerable.

I would bet that within 12-18 months, there’s going to be a Mac virus/vulnerability that’s going to take down a ton of Macs. Why? Because all the victims knew it couldn’t happen to them.

And if Apple takes a long time to come up with a fix . . . .

It’s one thing when Windows fails, but when your god fails . . . .

Ed


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