They don't infect files and copy themselves. "They are little apps that are dropped onto the machine to do something. "The malware we see today is Trojans, password-stealing Trojans," Marcus said. In April, Microsoft reported a big spike-a 300 percent increase year-over-year-in the number and proportion of Trojan droppers that its Malware Protection Center detected and removed. Trojans that are secretly dropped on a computer from a malicious Web site are the most prevalent malware threat. Operating system vulnerabilities represent about 6 percent of disclosed vulnerabilities while more than 90 percent of vulnerabilities are found in applications, according to a Microsoft security report from last month. Threats to applications are rising while exploits of operating system weaknesses are declining. "Apple is realizing that malware these days is targeting data, and valuable data exists just as much on an OS platform that is a Mac as it does on an OS platform that is Windows," he said.
Meanwhile, Apple's message has been that Mac users are immune to viruses, as evidenced by this television ad.ĭave Marcus, director of security research and communications at McAfee, said Apple was reacting to the realities of the market, where Mac users are finding they are not immune to Trojans and other Web-based malware that malicious hackers write to steal data from computers.
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The company overhauled its own software development practices and constantly urges Windows users to install and update antivirus and other security software.
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Microsoft's software patch releases are watched closely by the entire industry.
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Apple urges Mac customers to use antivirus software.įor years, Apple has enjoyed a period free from concern over viruses, while Windows has been blasted with viruses that were written to make the biggest impact by targeting the dominant OS platform. A spokesman said he would look into the matter.īrian Krebs, who first reported on the Apple antivirus recommendation Monday in his Security Fix blog at The Washington Post, said an Apple store employee told him he didn't need antivirus software when he purchased a MacBook three months ago. MacDailyNews unearthed the same note posted by Apple in June 2007 and published it on Tuesday,a long with a link to a March 2002 note from Apple urging people to use an anti-virus program.Īpple representatives did not respond to e-mails seeking comment on Monday, but did return a call on Tuesday. The item offers three software suggestions: Intego VirusBarrier X5 and Symantec Norton Anti-Virus 11 for Macintosh, both available from the Apple Online Store, and McAfee VirusScan for Mac. On November 21 Apple updated a technical note on its Support Web site that says: "Apple encourages the widespread use of multiple antivirus utilities so that virus programmers have more than one application to circumvent, thus making the whole virus writing process more difficult." It's more a recognition that Mac users are vulnerable to Web application exploits, which have replaced operating system vulnerabilities as the bigger threat to computer users. A follow-up blog will be posted that goes into more detail about the coverage.Īpple is recommending that Mac users install antivirus software.īut don't read this as an admission that the Mac operating system is suddenly insecure. PST with call back from Apple and link to 2002 Apple anti-virus item.
PST December 2 to correct that Apple previously recommended antivirus software to Mac users, and at 1:50 p.m.
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