Macworld Insiders know the Macalope work hard all workweek . So , when the weekend comes , he likes to put his hooves up and enjoy some alfalfa and a grain - ground drinkable while watching cyberspace cat video . Is that too much to ask ? Apparently it is , allot to PCWorld ’s Katherine Noyes .
Why else would she have so thoughtlessly decided to write this insipid piece—”Post - MacDefender , Linux look good Than Ever“—about Mac and Linux security ?
Until recently , it was a commonly held feeling in the mainstream calculate world that Macs are more untroubled than Windows PC are .
That ’s probably because , until recently , it was true . OS X is definitely more untroubled than Windows XP . It is , however , less secure than Windows 7 . On the other deal , it plausibly also gets attacked less . Yes , even after MacDefender .
The Macalope still likes his probability of getting a more secure drug user experience on OS X than any flavor of Windows ( peculiarly now that he ’s created a freestanding executive account and handicapped administrator exclusive right on his unconstipated user account ) . He also likes his luck of getting just a better user experience on OS X than any flavor of any other operating organisation . ( Yes , he ’s used both Windows 7 and Ubuntu and they ’re just not for him . Have you noticed the Macalope has a Classic Mac for a head ? )
Rather than jumping to aid with assistance in a timely manner , the companionship dragged its feet , denied the trouble and stonewall in every mode potential before ultimately taking activity .
Time between the outbreak of MacDefender and Apple delivering a defense against it : about a month . Is that a farsighted time ? Does n’t seem terribly long to the Macalope , but reasonable multitude may disaccord .
The fact of the matter is , though , you have no approximation what Apple was doing internally while you say it was dragging its feet . The Macalope has alreadydetailed his complaintsabout the company ’s response to MacDefender , but you ’ve taken the hyperbole about it to heroic proportions .
The result is that Mac user can no longer breathe easy in the “ security , ” material or perceive , of their walled garden — at least no more than Windows users can on their own political platform .
Katherine , Mac users do not run in a“walled garden ” . You ’re obnubilate closed in code with a closed ecosystem . Mac users can install any applications they need . They can even run open source applications in X Windows . You ’re recollect of iOS .
Pro tip : have some kind of estimation about the things you intend to drop a line about before you ride down in front of the calculator and start willy - nilly clickity clacking away like an enraged Mavis Beacon on a Mountain Dew bender .
If anyone needed further proof that “ security by obscurity ” does n’t knead , this is it .
Hang on to that thought .
Two closed desktop operating platforms have now “ fallen ” to malware , in other row . That leaves the clear one still remain firm : Linux .
Right . Because Linux has neverhad a Trojan Horse attack .
It is worth noting , however , that Linux still has n’t fallen fair game to anything near the level of insecurity that Windows and now Macs both have .
Say , what is the level of insecurity that Macs now have ? Is that a quantifiable amount or just at large talk ? Oh . It ’s just loose talk because you have no idea what percentage of user were infected . Got it .
In fact , severaldistinct advantagesmake security one of Linux ’s strongest merchandising head , as I ’ve noted before , including the way of life prerogative are assigned , the openness of the code , and the fact that screen background Linux users still make up a diminished consultation .
Yes ! Linux ’s big advantage is that practically no one wish it as a desktop operating system except a kernel of nutty enthusiast who abuse the established but stupid metaphors about competing operating organisation .
Before anyone wee-wee the argument that the audience - size vantage will go away as Linux gets more democratic …
No one is make that argument , Katherine . Because no one expects Linux to get that much more popular .
Audience sizing may still be one component working in Linux ’s favor , but I call up the bigger one is the receptivity of its code .
Allow the Macalope to stop you , because he ’s heard this one before . For the past year or more you ’ve been sayingexactly the same affair about Android . Andhere ’s how that turned out :
Android smartphones are expected to contact about half the market by year ’s end , surpassing iOS as the market leader in such devices . Android smartphones ( and tablets ) are also among the least secure ones available , thanks mainly to the Android Market being full of Trojan sawbuck and other malware masquerade as legitimate apps .
Ouch . gauge what ? While “ security through obscurity ” does n’t work against Trojans , neither does “ security through openness . ”
Say , how are thing going in the “ walled garden ? ”
Apple iOS : Why it ’s the most secure OS , period(InfoWorld )
reply : because Apple curates the applications and can supply faster updates . effectuality of Android ’s relative nakedness and more operate exclusive right in stopping user who blindly provide their passwords just to install material : precisely diddly squat . Go figure . No platform is protected against this . If you ’re going to give user the ability to install applications , less sophisticated users will always settle prey to Trojans . The remnant .
Is Linux more secure than OS X ? really , it in all likelihood is ! But mostly only because it has fewer substance abuser and because Apple has doltishly default Safari to mechanically open so - called “ secure ” files ( which may be nothing of the sorting ) . Ironically , if Apple makes OS X into more of a “ walled garden ” by restrain allowable applications to those from the Mac App Store , we have genuine - world evidence in iOS that it ’ll be more secure , not less .
Katherine ’s sky , however , is still full of open source fairies .
Audience size may still be one component work in Linux ’s favour , but I think the bigger one is the openness of its code . Even if Apple did manage about client service , the fact remains that no one company can protect you as well as the worldwide community of user can .
Is Katherine completely incognizant that cardinal parts ofOS XandSafariare open source , too ?
Katherine , please explain how a “ worldwide community of users ” will keep people from instal Trojans , as they have so pronto on Android .
You ca n’t . Any attempt to is already disproved by actual - world evidence .
appear , you wish open source . A lot . We get it . That ’s large . But , please , just stop publish about Apple so the Macalope can brush aside you . You ’re really , really bad at it . And it ’s ruining his weekends .
