In the wake of the Flashback botnet which targeted Mac computers, Apple has removed a statement from its messages
on its website that Mac operating
system X (OS X) isn't susceptible to viruses. Apple removed the previous
statement "It doesn't get PC viruses" and replaced it with "It's
built to be safe," and "Safeguard your data. By doing nothing"
with "Safety. Built in." According to Sophos
U.S. senior technology consultant Graham Cluley, this is a sign that Apple is
starting to take security seriously. "I view the changes in the messages
pushed out by their marketing department as some important baby-steps," he
wrote in a blog entry. "Let's hope more Apple Mac owners are also learning
to take important security steps -- such as installing antivirus
protection." In addition to changing its marketing messages, Apple has
released a security guide for the iPhone operating system iOS and
announced in February that OS X 10.8, or Mountain Lion, would include a new
feature called Gatekeeper that would restrict which applications users can
install on their devices. Cluley is not the only security expert who has urged
Apple to improve its OS protection. In a recent interview with Computerworld
Australia, Kaspersky Lab co-founder Eugene Kaspersky said the company needed to extend time frames for supporting older operating systems. For
example, in May this year Apple ended support for OS X 10.5, also known as
Leopard, when OS X 10.7 was released. "Apple has stopped supporting some
older operating systems but there are still millions of people using these
systems," he said. "It means if vulnerabilities are found, any kind
of bad guys will be free to infect these machines." Apple Australia was
contacted by Computerworld Australia but declined to comment.
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