The Myths of Security

Chapter 20. Is Apple Really More Secure?

This is a pretty fun topic because people get so emotional about it, on both sides.

Before I register my opinion, I need to be clear that I’ve been operating almost exclusively on a Mac since OS X came out in early 2001. I grew up in Unix, and never liked the lack of usability in Windows, so it was a good fit. However, I don’t have any particular interest in making Apple look better than it really is, particularly when it comes to security. So, I don’t really consider myself a “fan boy,” but I do know plenty of people over in Apple, and I have some insight into what its product security team looks like.

Apple and its fan boys will talk about how its platform is more secure because there is so little malware for it.

Security people will talk about how there are plenty of vulnerabilities published for OS X, and that it is certainly not inherently more secure than other operating systems.

Both sides are correct! Yes, there are plenty of vulnerabilities in OS X. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s an undue number—we all know secure software is difficult to write, and there are going to be problems. And in anything as large as an operating system, there are always going to be more security holes to find. I think what’s important is that Apple seems to take things seriously and get patches out in a timely manner when things go public (disclosure tends to be when the malware starts coming out).

At the same time, it’s true that, from what I’ve seen, there ...