A worm in the Apple?

July 2007 Entry 3

A security researcher claims to have written an OS X worm.

He doesn't give many details, other than to say the worm uses an exploit that will give remote root access. I hate to say it, but despite the verbal violence directed at him by some of the more fanatical Apple faithful, there' no reason not to believe him. There is certainly no reason to threaten and demean him. I love Mac's, and I'll probably run them until I can't find one to run anymore. But Steve Jobs is not God, and Mac's are not invulnerable. Mac users have lead blessed lives, malware wise, and may continue to for a while. But the day will come when an exploit of major virulence will hit the Mac platform, and we'd better be ready. Run Anti-Virus software. Run a firewall. The one built into OS X will work, but the firewall in a NAT router will be better. Have a "normal user" login that you use for everything except installing software. We'll go into more detail on securing your computer soon

While we're preparing our Mac' against the coming storm we'd better put pressure on Apple to pay more attention to security researchers and be less highhanded. Apple does not want to be caught flat-footed when the first big Mac malware hits. Living up to the hype they've generated is impossible in the long term, so it's time to show that when it comes to security, Apple is ready to listen and learn.