Interesting article regarding computer security

Thats no suprise at all. Microsoft didn't "roll up their sleeves" for years because of all the anti-virus companies were, and still are protecting the Windows platform for them.

Meanwhile Apple was thumbing their noses that they didnt have virus's, and that was because there were hardly Mac's out there of any value outside of high end production editing systems. The tides have now turned and its now Apple out there with their pants down. Even though there are several anti-virus companies out there dealing with Apple, there are 30 years of culture thinking they are invincible.

Good article. Additionally you're mistaken if you think all you need is anti-malware software. You need another layer of some sort of web filtering system. I use both Open DNS (on my router) and Bluecoat K9 (on my PCs). Both are free to home users. Both block known malware and phishing sites, blacklists which are updated via their payed corporate customers. Both work on MAC, Windows, and Android.

Not bashing by any means, but I always thought Apple was largely built on image or perceptions through the use of some very savvy marketing. In fact, they do it better than almost anyone. Which is largely why they are so profitable.

Does Apple make quality products? IMO, they absolutely do. For a price? And I own a MacBook, iPAD, multiple iPhones. Yet, Windows 7/8 remains my primary system of choice for at least 80% of my computing tasks.

I also believe that a common error is to operate under the assumption that an OS is invulnerable to malware. No such thing so long as you are connected to the Net. And the responsibility for securing one's system falls squarely on the user.

Also, as mentioned, a layered approach to security is the best overall plan. Mine falling about 4-5 layers deep. All of which are freely available.

There is (Far as I know) no company by this name but I believe in Onion Security

Layer upon layer upon layer.

wa8yxm wrote:
There is (Far as I know) no company by this name but I believe in Onion Security

Layer upon layer upon layer.

What name?

Got my firewall running, check. Got the strongest anti-virus I could find running and constantly scanning, check. surf on a NON-administrator account, check. Use long, random-character passwords everywhere, check. Been on a Mac for years, check. And with all that, I'm still paying close attention to security issues. No, I've NEVER thought I was invulnerable because I was a Mac user. I've always known that the lack of viruses was probably largely due to the low returns on writing Mac-specific viruses, and sure enough, the nogoodniks are on Apple's case now.

Knock on wood, I've managed to miss all the malware thrown my way. So far.

But I still laugh when, from time to time, I stumble upon a web site that does things like throw up a screen warning me that "we have detected that your PC is infected with multiple viruses" and a voice comes across claiming to be from Microsoft Security Essentials demanding I call this phone number to get the malware removed from my computer. (It is usually clear that the phone number is one of those pay-to-call sites, so if you fall victim, they already gotcha.

Like Microsoft Security can scan your computer that way. As if Microsoft gave fig about a Mac. And I was dumb enough to bite.

But I'm keeping on top of it as best I can.

strollin wrote:
Which OS is most secure?

No, you are almost certainly wrong if you tried to guess. ...

This line from the article speaks volumes: "Also remember that your own behavior affects security more than your choice of device, and that you never are 100% safe no matter what you do."

The study that the article links to doesn't even list Android which seems very odd. While iOS has more vulnerabilities disclosed at least the fixes reach the customers in a reasonable timeframe. Android fixes very often don't get to the consumer for a year or more if at all. Even though the article is skewed toward making Apple seem insecure, I think iOS is considerably more secure (esp. iOS 8) than Android.

A more valuable study would be mean time to fix for each vulnerability. A fixed vulnerability that gets patched within a few weeks is far more relatively secure than one that goes unpatched for months or years.

This study isn't that useful to show which OS is "safest" because it's not as simple as the one with the least security holes. It also is just a listing of CVEs recorded in 2014 so lumping everything under Apple iOS could show items exclusive to iOS 7 or iOS 8 which means nothing if you're not on that version. Or Windows 7 only versus Windows 8 - I wouldn't gauge my security on the number of vulnerabilities in an OS flavor that I'm not currently running.

Campfire Time wrote:
Good article. Additionally you're mistaken if you think all you need is anti-malware software. You need another layer of some sort of web filtering system. I use both Open DNS (on my router) and Bluecoat K9 (on my PCs). Both are free to home users. Both block known malware and phishing sites, blacklists which are updated via their payed corporate customers. Both work on MAC, Windows, and Android.

Bluecoat was in it's prime in 2012 or so. Today, forget it. Not current so leaves you with iffy filtering, etc. As for Open DNS... aok.

SCVJeff wrote:

wa8yxm wrote:
There is (Far as I know) no company by this name but I believe in Onion Security

Layer upon layer upon layer.

What name?

Onion Security :S

There's plenty of blame to go around - and Microsoft is far from innocent. While Apple may top someone's list of "vulnerability counts" what matters to hackers is the probability of a successful exploit.

1) There are far more Windows machines than Apple based ones.
2) There are still many unpatched Windows machines
3) There are still many holes left unpactched with new holes coming every day to Windows
4) It's not just the OS anymore but applications like Flash


Why did Willie Sutton rob banks? "Because that's where the money is."
Why do hackers target Windows machines? "Because that's where the holes are." :)


I've been running a Linux based desktop for a long time.
And - when possible - I make my kids do the same. :)