True or false: when you use the Mac platform, you never have to worry about security again?
At the risk of offending all the Apple Macintosh users and supporters out there, the answer is a resounding false.
That’s not to say the Mac isn’t inherently secure but rather there are many factors to consider. Here are my top three:
- Applications vulnerabilities
- User/operator ignorance
- Malicious code on the web
Basically the things that are outside your control and at times outside the control of any operating system.
“Huh? What did you just say? Did he just say my Mac isn’t secure?”
That’s probably the question bouncing around in some of my readers thought process right now. Let me sum up the issue nicely with one example of a potential vulnerability:
Don’t assume that just because the base operating system is essentially secure that everything else that ships with the operating system is as secure.
There are quite a few Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server boxes that get cracked because of poorly configured PHP/Perl/Web/Database applications.
There are areas where lack of knowledge and outside threats can still cause lots of problems in the Apple Mac environment.
Before you jump down my throat, no I’m not claiming that this makes the Mac insecure. Only that you still need to understand where the various threats lie.
Agree? Disagree? State your case.
