4 ms·
The security via obscurity argument is floating around this discussion for years. And I don't buy it that OS X is not tested by malware experts. I don't know w
by myspy 14y ago
The security via obscurity argument is floating around this discussion for years. And I don't buy it that OS X is not tested by malware experts.
I don't know who has read that reddit AMA of a malware writer but he stated that 90% of all bad guys can't write code.
And apart from that he stated that his malware can bypass anti virus software.
To get programs on your Mac that cause real trouble it's necessary to type in your password during installation. The last big trojan used a Java hole.
Therefore I state that Mac is secure enough for the average user as long as he gives no privilegs to obscure programs and does not use Java (and Flash?) in the browser.
I don't know how else you can get malicious code onto an iOS device apart from jailbreaking it, getting something through the App Store checks or someone getting it in his hands.
For the real bad stuff a virus scan won't help you, these bad guys know how to work around. It's all about the user and his knowledge about what precautions he should apply (not giving th device in other hands, not jailbreaking).
Are there ways to hack a phone via browser, let's say with a JavaScript hack?
- cube13 14y agoThere were a few remote execution holes in iOS' Webkit implementation that were mostly used to jailbreak phones. I'm not sure how quickly those were detected and patched, though.
- gurkendoktor 14y ago> To get programs on your Mac that cause real trouble I think this is the big fallacy of the UNIX security model. Every program you download can delete your home folder without warning, it only can't mess up the OS (and other users, but those are increasingly rare). That's terrible because restoring /System is the easiest thing in the world, restoring user data isn't. I think you can't delete Time Machine backups without admin rights, but malware could easily purge TM with an artificial mammoth file too. I am super paranoid about downloading software to my work Mac even from the App Store. And even for iOS I only try random free apps on my iPad where I don't have my address book synced.
- Turing_Machine 14y agoiOS apps don't have access to a home folder, and the new Sandbox model for OS X is that way, too. Each app has its own folder, with no access to the folders of other apps. There are APIs to access data from other apps that share it (for example photos and the address book, so you're right to be wary there), but no direct access to arbitrary folders. This is both good and bad, of course. It forces you to jump through hoops if you legitimately need access, and makes certain types of programs difficult/impossible to write.
- gurkendoktor 14y agomyspy is talking about OS X in the present tense.
- Turing_Machine 14y agoPresent tense? Apps in the Mac App store have to use the sandbox as of June 1. It's hard to get more "present" than that. :-)