My Mac Friends

To my Mac friends: I love Macs. I want one! They say Mac folks are a “class of their own”. They say they don’t think they need to worry about security and “antivirus”. Well – I’m a Mac lover and I agree they have built a great system. But please don’t miss the threats that are being aimed at the Macs! Think about it. Mac lovers are willing to spend a little more on a good system. In the short term, they were not targets. But now – as the world is getting more sophisticated, as are the bad guys, Macs and Mac users are targets.

Yeah for Macs. I love them! I want one! I used to work for an organization that was all Macs! That is, until Windows ’95 came along and offered some of the things that the Mac folks already knew and had been enjoying for a number of years! But – Windows ’95 came in at a better price! It took probably fifteen years for the Microsoft folks to get up to speed with the Macs – and I don’t’ think they’re there yet – but they definitely have the market share. Finally the Microsoft folks are getting their operating systems, and software, to a more secure level. The Mac folks have still been sitting back there for the last 15 years wondering when they (Microsoft) would catch up!

I love the fact that the Mac went to an underlying system that is Unix based! More of us will be able to understand and want the Mac for just that reason! Their systems are tough both physically and electronically! But – they are being targeted – not a lot, but enough to make the Mac users hesitate. First – their file system is set so that “everyone” has read permissions for any newly created files. Friends – stand up and take notice. You do need to be sure your systems are secure. You do need to purchase and install an antivirus program. You do need to use the firewall. OS X comes with a built in firewall, but you may want to change the configuration. For help with hardening your Mac platform, check out SANS MAC OS X Security Checklist at http://www.sans.org/score/macosxchecklist.php.

Network administrators may also need to help your Mac users. Macs can’t just be “left alone” … if they are on your network, you need to understand how they work, and what they are capable of. Those Macs are mighty powerful systems – and you want them on “your” side, not the bad guys’ side! The SANS Checklist also includes information about the MAC as a server. It is a “must read” for Network Administrators!

Sophos just had a great article about the latest threat to the Macs. They even have a video showing how easily they can be exploited. Please check it out at http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2009/03/mac-malware.html . It is worth the time and money to put an antivirus on your Macs!! There are several options, also outlined in the SANS Checklist, including some enterprise options.

Mac users – go forth and enjoy – safely!!