A recent article on eWeek triggered a lively discussion on an old topic that’s always sure to get the blood pumping. The article’s headline proclaims, “Apple’s Mac isn’t as secure as some want us to believe,” and there’s no doubt that it’s true.

The old argument, often eliciting strong response, really highlights the difference between the hype and reality. Now every computer company is guilty of a little hype. That’s the job of the marketing department, and they wouldn’t be doing their jobs if there wasn’t at least a little hype surrounding a product at any given time. Apple does it, Microsoft does it, and so does everybody else. That’s how products get sold. But in the case of Apple, far too many people have bought into the party line, and there could be a long-term danger as a result. Here’s the conflict: Mac fans believe that the Mac is absolutely secure and requires no anti-virus or email security software of any kind. Security experts generally have always disagreed, and even Apple itself has reiterated its own suggestion that users deploy anti-virus software. But still the faithful cling to their illogical contention that “it can’t happen to me because I have a Mac.”

Now here’s the reality. Yes, OS X is a good operating system, and the Mac is a pretty good machine. For the most part, it has fewer vulnerabilities and less attacks. But there’s a big difference between that reality, and the claim that “it can’t happen to me because I have a Mac.” That claim is just hype.

In fact, it can happen to you, and it will probably continue happening to you with increasing frequency. Just this month, an updated piece of malware targeting the Mac OS X was found; a new variant of Jahlav, as well as a new variant of Tored, which is being used in an attempt to create a Mac-based botnet. The lure of money will continue to attract bad guys to the OS X platform.

No OS is a fortress

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