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To Mac Users
And yes, Tic, this is mainly in response to your posts...

First, full disclosure. I use XP mainly and am looking forward to trying out Vista come February. Having said that I *also* own a G4 iLamp and this Saturday I bought a shiny new MacBook for my girlfriend to use.

I don't hate Macs nor OS/X. Apple makes some good stuff.

However.

The vulnerabilities being exposed during MoAB are real. They aren't theoretical, they can be tailored to do anything a bad guy pleases. Even if they don't grant privilege escalation a piece of malware can do nasty things to you with only your own privileges.

Consider what you could do to mess yourself up on your mac *without* using the Admin password...

The fact is Apple is very tight lipped about security fixes, they don't necessarily fix them when white hats report them, so MoAB is no bad thing really.

As another poster said, 30 less vulnerabilities is 30 less vulnerabilities, however they get reported and fixed.

Finally, many of the Mac users posting about MoAB are dismissive. *That is a mistake*, trust me. After all, I live in the Windows world and I know how much impact a single widespread vulnerability can have. So take my word for it, a *single* vulnerability in the wrong place and many a Mac owner will be crying over an empty hard drive.

Don't be complacent. Demand Apple fix the vulnerabilities exposed, and publically acknowledge they've done so.

I'm not jeering at Mac owners, I'm one myself. But I'm a professional programmer and an IT manager. Part of my job is to think like a bad guy. How would *I* attack the system? What could I do if I got access? How easy are passwords to find, how about private emails (blackmail), how about just a simple bot herd?

Mac folks by and large aren't thinking defensively and they should be. I'm not crying wolf, I'm telling you sincerely there's a danger and to watch out for it.

There's no easier target than one that isn't expecting to be attacked. Bad guys like soft targets. Mac OS X has good armour but like any armour it has chinks in it.

"Safer" doesn't mean "safe". Treating MoAB as nothing but ego-boo is a VERY bad idea.
Posted by: wolf_z   Posted on: 01/05/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
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Great quote  tic swayback | 01/04/07
Yes, I suppose that does make it all okay  NonZealot | 01/04/07
King of the trolls  tic swayback | 01/04/07
Hmm, when you have no defense...  NonZealot | 01/04/07
When you write something of substance...  tic swayback | 01/04/07
tic...  Rick_K | 01/04/07
Don't forget  tic swayback | 01/04/07
Response and responsibility  whisperycat | 01/04/07
can't wait for the linux month of bugs  galileon | 01/04/07
The bottom line  tomt64 | 01/04/07
The bottom line, yeah...  KØRC | 01/04/07
I would love to see what would happen if...  NonZealot | 01/04/07
Yet another reason to buy a Mac  tic swayback | 01/04/07
Nope, sorry tic sad  NonZealot | 01/04/07
It's still more secure  tic swayback | 01/04/07
You're still forgetting something  tomt64 | 01/04/07
Not according to Nonzealot  tic swayback | 01/04/07
I am not sure that makes sense  markbn | 01/04/07
A HUGE difference!  NonZealot | 01/04/07
Stop, you made me spill coke on my keyboard!  Rick_K | 01/04/07
Silly question  tic swayback | 01/04/07
Lack of attack does not mean more secure  tomt64 | 01/04/07
More secure than XP?  NonZealot | 01/04/07
Do you own the only copy of XP in existence?  tic swayback | 01/04/07
Not for me...  NonZealot | 01/04/07
Statistically insignificant  tic swayback | 01/04/07
It is extremely relevant  NonZealot | 01/04/07
Ahem  tic swayback | 01/04/07
?  markbn | 01/04/07
Nothing at all  NonZealot | 01/04/07
Wait, what OS do you use?  tic swayback | 01/04/07
How comical but sad at the same time  MacCanuck | 01/05/07
Read the whole thread  tic swayback | 01/04/07
OK  markbn | 01/04/07
Thank goodness MS doesn't force me to use the IE browser!  NonZealot | 01/04/07
One more, and that's just today  tic swayback | 01/04/07
Why pay more for a MacBook?  NonZealot | 01/04/07
Hog Wash  jtd3rd | 01/04/07
To Mac Users  wolf_z | 01/05/07

What do you think?

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