December 1st, 2008

Apple: Mac users should run multiple anti-virus

Posted by Ryan Naraine @ 3:09 pm

Categories: Anti Virus, Apple, Arbitrary Code Execution, Data theft, Malware, Spam and Phishing, Spyware and Adware, Viruses and Worms, Zero-day attacks

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Antivirus, Malware, Apple Inc., Virus, Cyberthreats, Spyware, Adware & Malware, Viruses And Worms, Security, Desktops

One of Apple’s better Mac vs PC ads features a strong message that Windows computers are a magnet for viruses (malware) but Macs are automatically protected.  As PC “ah-choos” his way through an infection, Mac offers a tissue and smugly infers that he’s immune to the 114,000 Windows viruses.

Away from the television screen, Apple’s technical advice is different.  Very different.   Check out this recently updated technical note on Apple’s Web site:

• 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.

[ SEE: How Snow Leopard can save Mac OS X from malware attacks ]

The note goes on to list several commercial anti-virus utilities (two are available for sale at Apple’s online store!) and sends the correct message that no operating system is really safe from malicious software attacks.

We already know that it can be trivially easy to exploit unpatched Mac OS X vulnerabilities and, as Adam O’Donnell and others have theorized, it’s only a matter of market share before Apple’s operating system becomes a real target for malware writers.

Kudos to Apple for preparing its growing user base for the obvious reality.  Pity the marketing dollar is thrown at the wrong message.
* Hat tip to Brian Krebs.  Image via Newlaunches.com.