[Hidden-tech] Security: Mac vs. Windows is no longer an argument

[RA Cohen]

As someone who deploys and maintains many FreeBSD servers in the field, 
I feel compelled to comment. While I
inherently trust and believe in these machines I would never expose them 
to the internet without a known and
trusted firewall. Furthermore, as many administrators of these units 
would attest, their logs are always full of
attempted dictionary attacks trying to guess a way into these machines. 
My point being that a) hackers and bot keepers keep
trying and b) yes, there are BSD machines and admins who have been 
hacked in the past.

So what does this have to do with your typical Mac user (connected to 
the internet)? Do not be
complacent or religiously assume your machines and especially your work 
are "safe." Consumer-grade firewall/routers (yes, the $50 garden-variety
you probably are using) are not necessarily to be trusted. And someday, 
coming to you real soon, will be that email
attachment you inadvertently opened that turns your machine into a 
zombie spam-thrower. If the Macs
ever develop more than a 5-8% desktop presence in the world this someday 
will be tomorrow!

Here is a rather lengthy article for your edification:

http://theappleblog.com/2008/01/23/why-mac-security-matters-os-x-rootkit-hunter/

Hope this helps,
-Roy
-- 

Roy A Cohen
Network Advantage LLC
413.330.9568
www.net-vantage.com



Robert Heller wrote:
>>
>> This week I contacted Yes Computers to ask this very question.  They  
>> indicate that they have not had any computers serviced for virus  
>> infection / spyware etc... and indicated that they believed that at  
>> this time this was not an issue.
>>     
>
> Right, MacOSX, like Linux and other UNIX-like/based systems (basically
> every current O/S *except* MS-Windows), are pretty much imune to viruses
> (yes, they can be affected by rootkits attacking unsecured network
> services).
>
> It is true that many MacOSX users also run MS-Windows via some sort of
> virtualization (eg Parallels, VMWare,  etc.).  The virtualized
> MS-Windows systems can be affected by viruses, although I doubt very
> many MacOSX users that run virtual MS-Windows systems would be using
> the virtual MS-Windows systems to do the sorts of things that would
> expose the virtual MS-Windows systems to viruses, like using either IE
> or OE, since those sorts of functions are available via native MacOSX
> applications (Safri/Firefox, AppleMail/Thunderbird).
>
>   
>> I do not run any 3rd party apps to protect my system at the moment.
>>
>> Michael Aronson
>> Consumer Exports Group, Inc.
>>
>>
>> On Dec 5, 2008, at 1:47 PM, Chris Hoogendyk wrote:
>>
>>     
>>>  ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's  
>>> area.
>>>  ** If you did, we all thank you.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> andrew bellak wrote:
>>>       
>>>> okay, so here's a quick poll / survey question:
>>>>
>>>> if you run Mac, do you use 3rd party ant-spyware and/or anti-virus  
>>>> software?  Is anything built in into Leopard (OSX)?
>>>>
>>>> since I'm usually behind a modem, then a wireless router, I've been  
>>>> advised that it's redundant and just slows one's machine.
>>>>         
>>> Good replies from Roger and Robert.
>>>
>>> For some time I have not trusted the anti virus software sold for  
>>> Macs. They seemed to cause more trouble than they prevented. While  
>>> Virex was originally developed on the Mac many years ago (long  
>>> before Mac OS X), it was bought out by McAfee (a PC software  
>>> company). In such cases, Mac software doesn't fare very well.  
>>> Another prime example is Retrospect. That was once one of the best  
>>> software products anywhere. It was bought out by EMC several years  
>>> ago, and both development and support have seriously languished. It  
>>> seems to be dying the long slow death of neglect.
>>>
>>> I think that the primary threat on Macs is user behavior. The OS and  
>>> applications like Firefox try to provide protections, but the user  
>>> is the boss. So, download an executable from the web and the OS will  
>>> issue a warning when you try to run it. But, you can still say,  
>>> "yes, I want to run it."
>>>
>>> So, in the interest of user education and in parallel with the link  
>>> I posted the other day to the NSA Security Guides, those who want to  
>>> learn more about how to avoid risky behavior should check out the  
>>> CERT Security Tips -- http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ -- There is a  
>>> huge amount of stuff there. Since this is the shopping season, check  
>>> out particularly the tips related to Shopping Safely Online and  
>>> Browsing Safely. Whether it says so in those or not, I never do  
>>> activities that involve money or secure information on public  
>>> wireless networks.
>>>
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> ---------------
>>>
>>> Chris Hoogendyk
>>>
>>> -
>>>  O__  ---- Systems Administrator
>>> c/ /'_ --- Biology & Geology Departments
>>> (*) \(*) -- 140 Morrill Science Center
>>> ~~~~~~~~~~ - University of Massachusetts, Amherst
>>> <hoogendyk at bio.umass.edu>
>>>
>>> ---------------
>>> Erdös 4
>>>
>>>
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>> 413-306-4504
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>>
>>
>>
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