Apple products have been adored since decades and there are many reasons for that including their Sleek, Modern, Stylish, Timeless designs. But one of the other key ingredients that made the Apple products the rage that they are today is their “Virus-free operating systems.”
Apple hardware is “built on the world’s most advanced operating system,” the company’s site declares, and part of the sophistication, it has emphasized, has been an exceptionally strong immune system. So Mac machines are unsusceptible to viruses and other malware.
But it would be safe to say that they Were. Back in April, the Flashback botnet struck more than 600,000 Mac computers worldwide, with more than 300,000 of the machines affected in the U.S. Hackers searching for user information — passwords, financial account numbers — took advantage of a weakness in Java programs to gain access to Mac users’ machines. Nearly 300 of April’s Flashback attacks were aimed at Apple computers that were based in Cupertino itself.
Following the attack, CEO and co-founder of Kaspersky Lab, Eugene Kaspersky, was widely quoted as saying “Apple is 10 years behind Microsoft in terms of security”.
And Apple has also softened its tone. On the company’s site, its former, blunt message — “it doesn’t get PC viruses” — has been replaced by: “It’s built to be safe.” And the slogan of the past — “Safeguard your data. By doing nothing.” has been replaced by the much gentler “Safety. Built in.”
This is just a simple change in marketing language, but on the other the end of a strong conviction and belief. But looks like Apple is not to be blamed; As more and more of information makes its way to our machines, safeguarding data “by doing nothing” is no longer an option even, for Mac users.
READ ALSO: Apple looks to ban Samsung Galaxy S3 sales in the US
“Let's hope more Apple Mac owners are also learning to take important security steps – such as installing anti-virus protection,” says Senior technology consultant for Sophos, Graham Cluley.
Apple has also recently released a security guide for iOS users and has added a new feature called “Gatekeeper” to its Mountain Lion OS that to help apps users install safe apps on devices.
