Apple, on Wednesday, release Security Update 2009-003. This patch addresses several vulnerabilities, but perhaps the most critical addresses a flaw that could allow an attacker compromise a machine after the user views a malformed image. According to Apple “Viewing a maliciously crafted [image file] may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution.”
Hold the phone here for a minute. I thought MACs were safe and secure. I see all those MAC v. PC commercials and other MAC ads that tell us how Apple's computers are not prone to all the spyware and attacks that deluge PCs on a daily basis. Now I know this is just one new set of updates, but if you combine these with the recently release iPhone security patches, it makes people stand up and take notice.
By no means am I a MAC hater or a PC lover. I actually like and work with both systems. To Microsoft's credit, they have, for years, stated that the reason their systems are attacked so much is because they are the most widely used. MACs made up a small percentage of the tohome and business computer market place, so why waste time writing malicious code to attack them, when the same efforts could wipe out the much larger Windows PC market. Now that MACs (especially iPhone/iPods) have grown in popularity and are eating up more market share, it only makes sense that they will now be subject to more attacks.
I guess my point in all of this is really simple: MACs are no longer as safe as the folks at Apple want everyone to believe!
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