Apple pulls AV advice article – claims it was old and inaccurate

by Steve Ragan - Dec 3 2008, 21:15

After about twenty-four hours of coverage and various fan-boy fights, Apple has pulled the Tech Note that suggested anti-Virus coverage for Macintosh users. The reasoning sent in a statement from Apple is that the article was old and inaccurate. The question is why would Apple backtrack like this?

The Apple Tech Note being pulled was bound to happen. The first sign came last evening, when a quote that was posted with the original story here on The Tech Herald was retracted. A few questions later, the rep for the vendor who needed the retraction told me that Apple was not pleased they were commenting on the story.

Then yesterday, Apple issued this comment.

“We have removed the KnowledgeBase article because it was old and inaccurate. The Mac is designed with built-in technologies that provide protection against malicious software and security threats right out of the box. However, since no system can be 100-percent immune from every threat, running anti-virus software may offer additional protection.” - Bill Evans, Apple

Gizmodo’s Jesus Diaz, said that, “In fact, the old tech note itself is actually nothing new either: Apple offered anti-virus software as part of their .Mac subscription…the company has been recommending virus software since the pre-Unix years. In other words: No conspiracy theories, no "quietly published" technical notes. Just the same old recommendation they have been doing forever.”

Diaz has a point, but the statement from Apple on this issue goes from telling the public that the article was old – confirmed by a more than a few users online and Gizmodo – to instantly pointing out what most security people say all the time, “However, since no system can be 100-percent immune from every threat, running anti-virus software may offer additional protection.”

So which is it? Is it wise to layer protections on a Mac, or is the Mac so secure that you don’t need it?

Anyone who seriously thinks that there is no need for layered security on a system, Windows or Mac, needs to have a padded cell opened up for them. Security is just smart, and it is foolish to think that anyone is immune.

You always hear everyone talk about Viruses and how there are none on a Mac. Even Apple’s marketing will tell you this. Yet, while true that the direct targeting of a Macintosh by Malware authors is rare, does anyone honestly believe that it never happens?

Just one example of Malware that targets a Mac can be seen in OSX.RSPlug.D, as announced by Intego, the same security vendor that Apple suggested in the recently removed Tech Note.

This Trojan targets OS X, just like one other variant discovered in 2007. Version D of this Malware family was discovered in November of this year, Version A, in October of 2008. Not enough? Variant E of the OSX.RSPlug family was discovered yesterday, December 2, 2008.

Like Malware on Windows, the OSX.RSPlug family takes advantage of gullible users. Anyone who has worked in PC support long enough will tell you, users click on everything. This is why layered security is so highly recommended on a PC.

Does anyone honestly think Mac users are immune to being tricked into clicking on something?

For a long time, it was understood that most Mac owners were confident computer users. Now, thanks to extreme marketing, everyone at least considers a Mac. College students want one, teens want one, and sometimes even mom and dad want one. The odds of one of the people who fit into those vertical markets, especially mom and dad and the teen segment, will be tricked into doing something they shouldn’t is seriously high, even odds at best.

What about third-party software on a Mac? Sure OS X is highly stable, and mostly secure out of the box. What about Flash? What about QuickTime? What about Safari? There is no mystery as to why Apple releases security patches, even they know people will be tricked.

Again, remember that Malware authors do not write to target a system or a flaw, they write to target the user and always have. The flaw that the Malware exploits is only a means to an end.

Apple backtracking on this Tech Note is simply confusing. The statement that they issued, which can be seen two different ways, simply does nothing to dispel the fact that security on a computer, PC or Mac, is needed.

It will always be needed, because in Apple’s own words, “…no system can be 100-percent immune from every threat, running anti-virus software may offer additional protection.”

 

 

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