Apple Die-hards: Security and Viruses Now an Issue

Attention Mac users: your days in the security-safe section appear to be coming to an end.

According to Silicon.com, the first true MacOS X virus may well be on us, and Windows users who are thinking about switching their HP or Dell for an I-Mac may want to take notice now... before the hacks really start to hit the fan. This means that security holes in Apple's proprietary operating system appear to be starting to become a little more dangerous... perhaps too dangerous. And that's a scary thought. What was once the domain of Microsoft Windows users could, at this rate, become more widespread across several categories of operating systems.

Why is this? Basically, Apple made it easier to develop software for OSX by releasing a number of API functions - in other words, they're what developers call application programming interfaces - to a large sector of the information technology community in preparation for Apple's big switch to Intel's centralized processing chips - namely the Intel Core Duo family of CPU hardware. What this means is that anyone who obtains these API reference kits for software developers - SDK's, in other words, and the full industry term is software development kits - can develop applications quite easily for OSX that use Apple's new Universal Binary format for OSX applications that allows useful software to be written for OSX that can be used regardless of whether or not a Macintosh-based PC - as in personal computer - uses an Intel chip or IBM-designed Power PC CPU, ensuring backward compatibility (as long as the application uses either the old or new binary executable format - which which is handled by a runtime service that Apple calls Rosetta - and doesn't use MacOS 9.x format or earlier, which Rosetta unfortunately is incapable of handling).

And unfortunately, as Windows users know very well, not all developers who ever obtain API informations, SDK materials and the like can be trusted equally among each other - as while some developers, independent or commercialized, mean good and write trustworthy programs like Microsoft Office for OSX that can be used by many for everyday tasks, some also are notoriously evil and write everything from "Trojan code" to worms, viruses and the like - often taking advantage of insecure code in operating systems, application software and so forth that either they or some other hacker has uncovered to do worse harm, from DoS (denial of service) attacks and security privilege elevation exploits, to remote machine crashes and system buffer overruns. This means that as long as an open path to the core system code is available - as in no hardware or software-based firewalls to get in the way - exploit code is going to cause big problems for unsuspecting computer users who have not taken the necessary precautions well in advance.

And the warning shots have already been fired at OSX users - according to silicon.com - in the form of the Oompa-Loompa virus, referred to by security companies such as McAfee as Leap.A and which is also the most virulent of the OSX exploits so far. This was soon followed by another exploit attempt called Inqtana.A that uses a vulnerability in Apple's Bluetooth stack. And the worst news of all is that an extremely critical exploit in OSX has been found.

I can see Windows users such as myself taking pity on the Apple camp - we've had to deal with this crap for so long now that for us, security is no longer an afterthought. Us Windows guys with the highest security mindsets always patch in the latest hotfixes, install Anti-Virus, firewall and AntiSpyware solutions as if God demanded it Himself. And we update our defenses rigorously to help mitigate the latest threats. I expect the same will eventually happen to OSX users if things keep up like this.

And even if Steve Jobs were to deny it, he won't do so for long. This is a real problem, unfortunately. If too many unscrupulous people exploit OSX like there's no tomorrow, the problem is only going to get worse. OSX users are at a critical crossroads when it comes to securing their machines. My advice is that they either take notice and defend themselves - or face the consequences.

And for those who don't take this seriously... well, then I may only request that God Himself have mercy on their souls. For the sake of the safety and security of MacOS X users, it's now or never. I can only advise the Apple camp to do the right thing.

After all, it's only fair. Right?