Secure Coding mailing list archives
eWeek says "Apple's Switch to Intel Could Allow OS X Exploits"
From: crispin at novell.com (Crispin Cowan)
Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 09:06:36 -0800
Kenneth R. van Wyk wrote:
Interesting article, I suppose, but I'm not convinced of its conclusion: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1915923,00.asp The article claims that Apple's use of Intel chips will result in more software exploits because, "'Attackers have been focused on the [Intel] x86 for over a decade. Macintosh will have a lot more exposure than when it was on PowerPC,' said Oliver Friedrichs, a senior manager at Symantec Corp. Security Response." ... Am I missing something here?
Security by obscurity. It is lame, but for fending off bulk infections, it works well. I agree with the article that Macs will get more exposure and attack now. However, Mac OS X (and Linux and *BSD) still hold the major advantage over Windows that it is uncommon to run the mail client as root/administrator, so the infection rate will remain much lower than on Windows. Only when attackers have an actual exploit for the Mac/*NIX can they 0wn the machine. On Windows, they just need a good line and a user dumb enough to click on the attachment. Crispin -- Crispin Cowan, Ph.D. http://crispincowan.com/~crispin/ Director of Software Engineering, Novell http://novell.com Olympic Games: The Bi-Annual Festival of Corruption
Current thread:
- eWeek says "Apple's Switch to Intel Could Allow OS X Exploits" Kenneth R. van Wyk (Jan 27)
- eWeek says "Apple's Switch to Intel Could Allow OS X Exploits" Pascal Meunier (Jan 27)
- eWeek says "Apple's Switch to Intel Could Allow OS X Exploits" Andrew Rucker Jones (Jan 27)
- eWeek says "Apple's Switch to Intel Could Allow OS X Exploits" Crispin Cowan (Jan 27)
- eWeek says "Apple's Switch to Intel Could Allow OS X Exploits" Jose Nazario (Jan 27)
- eWeek says "Apple's Switch to Intel Could Allow OS X Exploits" Jose Nazario (Jan 30)
- eWeek says "Apple's Switch to Intel Could Allow OS X Exploits" Blue Boar (Jan 27)
- eWeek says "Apple's Switch to Intel Could Allow OS X Exploits" Pascal Meunier (Jan 27)
- eWeek says "Apple's Switch to Intel Could Allow OS X Exploits" Jose Nazario (Jan 27)
- eWeek says "Apple's Switch to Intel Could Allow OS X Exploits" der Mouse (Jan 27)
- eWeek says "Apple's Switch to Intel Could Allow OS X Exploits" ljknews (Jan 27)