Antivirus software at the core of the OS
I've been thinking a lot lately about Apple current gains. I've read many articles recently that tell of many users switching to the Mac OS for security. It has brought many questions and ideas to my mind.
What I first thought about was obviously Apple's halo effect is starting to happen. With the large amount of viruses and worms out there in the Windows world many people are looking for an alternative. This is good for Apple revenue... and yes there is a but, so... but with more users comes more people to hack and write viruses and worms.
What I have been thinking about is a stronger system. I know a little of how an operating system works, but not much by any means. It would seem to me that having antivirus software at the core of the OS would be well worth it. Also a stronger firewall with more user friendly options. Like I said I know only a little of how an OS works, but having a layer on top of the system for antivirus seems kind of silly to me. Why not put it at the heart so it can better monitor the system? I want to know what some of you think about this. Would it be better? What type of things would it help? What type of things could go wrong? Etc.
What I was thinking about was for Apple to put at the core of the system a security element, that is antivirus/ firewall/ backup and the ability to revert to a previously saved state. On windows there is this and I'm sure you can do it with a Mac, it has just been a long time since I've needed to. Way back when I was running OS 9.0. Anyway, I was thinking that antivirus and a firewall together would be great for these reasons; the antivirus software could work in conjunction with the firewall to monitor the ports that information comes into the computer. It could constantly check to see if anything could be a virus or a possible hacking attempt. Know this is where I don't know much about what goes on... I also know it could be annoying as in the Windows world if this new system element popped up with a message everytime it thought it found something funny going on.
Know there is more that I've thought about this but I want to see what some other well knowledged people have to say. My main point is this. As Apple's market share grows, so does the possibility and inevitability that more viruses, worms, etc. will come to our beloved Macintosh platform. I believe Apple needs to to take a strong stance on this, and squash it before it is a possibility. Even if it does mean putting antivirus / wirewall software makers out of business. What we don't want is to 5 years from now be in the same boat that Windows in now.
What I first thought about was obviously Apple's halo effect is starting to happen. With the large amount of viruses and worms out there in the Windows world many people are looking for an alternative. This is good for Apple revenue... and yes there is a but, so... but with more users comes more people to hack and write viruses and worms.
What I have been thinking about is a stronger system. I know a little of how an operating system works, but not much by any means. It would seem to me that having antivirus software at the core of the OS would be well worth it. Also a stronger firewall with more user friendly options. Like I said I know only a little of how an OS works, but having a layer on top of the system for antivirus seems kind of silly to me. Why not put it at the heart so it can better monitor the system? I want to know what some of you think about this. Would it be better? What type of things would it help? What type of things could go wrong? Etc.
What I was thinking about was for Apple to put at the core of the system a security element, that is antivirus/ firewall/ backup and the ability to revert to a previously saved state. On windows there is this and I'm sure you can do it with a Mac, it has just been a long time since I've needed to. Way back when I was running OS 9.0. Anyway, I was thinking that antivirus and a firewall together would be great for these reasons; the antivirus software could work in conjunction with the firewall to monitor the ports that information comes into the computer. It could constantly check to see if anything could be a virus or a possible hacking attempt. Know this is where I don't know much about what goes on... I also know it could be annoying as in the Windows world if this new system element popped up with a message everytime it thought it found something funny going on.
Know there is more that I've thought about this but I want to see what some other well knowledged people have to say. My main point is this. As Apple's market share grows, so does the possibility and inevitability that more viruses, worms, etc. will come to our beloved Macintosh platform. I believe Apple needs to to take a strong stance on this, and squash it before it is a possibility. Even if it does mean putting antivirus / wirewall software makers out of business. What we don't want is to 5 years from now be in the same boat that Windows in now.
Comments
The ironic side effect of putting AV software in the core OS is that the frequent updates would teach people to OK updates to the core OS in the name of preventing viruses, which would make the technology a fat target for trojan horses. If you really want security, you make it as difficult as possible for anything to mess with the core OS or system files. That's OS X's approach currently.
That approach localizes the risk to your own home directory (for the most part), which allows AV and other security programs to run in your space and protect your stuff, which helps make the whole system more stable and more secure.
The optimal scenerio is a computer system which isn't broken in the first place and which requires no patched on security measures to function properly.
When the OS, virtual machines, APIs, and end applications are coded well, there is absolutely no need whatsoever for antiviral software. When holes are found, they're patched.
Microsoft has done an amazing job of lowering people's expectations. Their bloated and poorly architected APIs are riddled with inherented design flaws which don't exist on other platforms. Also, their codebase is so huge and interconnected, that there are many APIs which now function as black boxes, the original authors having long since moved on to other employement. This has served them well financially, not having to touch legacy parts of the system and maintaining proprietery advantages associated with a private code base.
If macros were't poorly implemented in MS apps, we wouldn't have to worry about macro viruses. If the MS code base had 90% less code, it would be easier to isolate and eliminate security holes. If they scrapped their OS and started with a new master plan which didn't ignore security, Windows would be much more secure.
A clean and concise set of APIs is the first step to system security. Crufty bloated wrecks are nearly impossible to secure after the fact.
Originally posted by iShawn
So...are you all saying there is no threat, so there is no need of anti-virus software. I mean...I think I would feel naked come time to get the Powerbook...and not install an anti-virus. I understand it has a firewall on it...but...eh...I guess that's just my inner Windows screaming at me that something is wrong.
There's certainly no immediate threat. Mac marketshare is around 2%. Unless that number magically grew to at least 10% (not likely in the next 3 years if ever), then maybe you'd see the beginnings of a threat.
I think the highest marketshare Apple has ever gotten was 12% of the market and a few harmless viruses were written during that time. In 20 years, I only had one harmful (but not really that harmful) virus that slowed Mac OS classic down. A few variation of it was spread but that was pretty much it for viruses.
I don't think there's ever going to be threat. If Apple starts getting popular today, it would take a decade to gain back that 14% marketshare. So you're safe for at least 10 years.
Originally posted by kim kap sol
There's certainly no immediate threat. Mac marketshare is around 2%. Unless that number magically grew to at least 10% (not likely in the next 3 years if ever), then maybe you'd see the beginnings of a threat.
I think the highest marketshare Apple has ever gotten was 12% of the market and a few harmless viruses were written during that time. In 20 years, I only had one harmful (but not really that harmful) virus that slowed Mac OS classic down. A few variation of it was spread but that was pretty much it for viruses.
I don't think there's ever going to be threat. If Apple starts getting popular today, it would take a decade to gain back that 14% marketshare. So you're safe for at least 10 years.
Please. I am so tired of people who accept Microsoft's B.S. that viruses are a natural consequence of marketshare. It simply is not true. The reason that there are no MacOS X viruses is due to the design of the OS. The reason that Windows has so many viruses is also due to the design of the OS. If the marketshare numbers were reversed, it is entirely possible that there would still be zero MacOS X viruses. There might be fewer Windows viruses, but only because there would be fewer users to write them.
|The Miss-Education of Shawn|
10 minutes.
Not from users downloading nefarious items.
Not from IE being an asshat.
Not from Office macros.
Just. Being. Connected.
There are, last I checked, over 50,000 'viruses' (email viruses, Office macros, worms, etc) for the Windows platform.
The Mac has 37.
And all of them are for Classic.
For example, the system can inform the user that for reasons of security, administrator privileges should be not be granted for the user account that will be used on a daily basis for browsing the internet and playing games.
The system should also provide the option to prevent users from mounting disks & images. I am not sure if this built-in already - I haven't checked. This will help with data security.
Also, I recommend using something like Virex. It is pretty good in the current incarnation. I like the client / server design and I am happy that the scanner kicks in whenever I mount a volume.
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On a note, if I write a shell script that does a "sudo rm -rf ~/" and provide it as an email attachment, how many Mac users will run it if I call it lewtz p0rn? Security is only as good as the weakest link in the chain and that PEBKAC.
Originally posted by talksense101
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On a note, if I write a shell script that does a "sudo rm -rf ~/" and provide it as an email attachment, how many Mac users will run it if I call it lewtz p0rn? Security is only as good as the weakest link in the chain and that PEBKAC.
Actually a "sudo" cmd asks for a password, no?
(Ok, the shell script could pretend to do something useful anyway, and the potential user just could click "yes", in order to remove, say, all suspicious history files. That's how it works, isn't it?)
Originally posted by Kickaha
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The Mac has 37.
And all of them are for Classic.
Ohh, what a stunning number. I've never encountered any of them.
Pure luck or bold protection of the system?
15 Years Macintosh Experience - no bumming at all
6 Years Windows Experience - always a snatch for the latest patch