On MovieTome: MovieTome: Holiday Movie Guide
BNET Business Network:
BNET
TechRepublic
ZDNet
TalkBack 10 of 22:
Next »
« Previous
Apple killed one of its protective barriers
when it switched to the Intel Core CPUs. Those use the same x86 machine language that Windows crackers already know. Before, a Windows cracker who considered graduating to the Mac not only had to consider the more secure underlying OS, but also the fact that they would have to learn a whole new machine language and processor architecture (the PowerPC). This was a tremendous investment in learning curve for the questionable payback of attacking such a small market share.

Now that Macs use the same CPU family as PCs, this barrier is removed, and that means that the effort needed to learn to hack the Mac makes it more worthwhile despite its relatively small market share. So, we’ll be seeing more Mac malware before long (there is already a considerable amount of Unix malware out there, so don’t think that the FreeBSD-based Darwin/Mach core alone is enough to protect the Mac).

I doubt it will ever be quite as bad as Windows, though.
Posted by: Joel R   Posted on: 04/02/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
Reply to Story Reply to Message

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

Want security? Go with Apple...  gtdworak | 04/02/07
Want functionality? Go with Windows  John Zern | 04/02/07
If they go with Windows they are locked in...  mrlinux | 04/02/07
Please explain  xuniL_z | 04/02/07
Are you stupid!  An_Axe_to_Grind | 04/02/07
Actually  xuniL_z | 04/02/07
Hardware does not a computer make  dropzone@... | 04/03/07
More apps run on Macs than ANY other computer.  Joel R | 04/02/07
LoL  Suicida| | 04/02/07
Apple killed one of its protective barriers  Joel R | 04/02/07
Want security and operability  Boot_Agnostic | 04/02/07
Government can't standardize on Linux on the desktop  PB_z | 04/02/07
Sure they could  Suicida| | 04/02/07
True enough  Boot_Agnostic | 04/03/07
Applications for Vista  Anton Philidor | 04/02/07
Of course, directives are not always followed to the letter...  mrlinux | 04/02/07
The rule of thumb is:  Suicida| | 04/02/07
He flash  Suicida| | 04/02/07
Are We in Deep Crap  Sowhatsupyouranus@... | 04/02/07
Last chance for big M$ purchase  rtb | 04/03/07
February?  mollenhourb@... | 04/03/07
Exploit of Microsoft Office for Spying  mighetto | 04/23/07

What do you think?

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

Meet Doc

  • Here to help you with your Document Management Needs
  • Doc is an enigma. Born to a Russian ballerina and a German electrical engineer, he grew up in various locations in the United States. He’s seen the insides of more brands, versions, and generations of printer and printer-related hardware than almost anyone.
  • To learn more about this mysterious figure check out his blog on ZDNet and his Workspace on TechRepublic. You’ll be glad you did.
  • Produced by
    ZDNet and