Snow Leopard Malware Protection a Growing Pain for Mac OS X

Mac users have long relished the fact that malware is nearly a foreign concept to them. Yet, in a tacit acknowledgment of the growing threat of malware on the Mac platform, Apple has added some rudimentary malware protection into Snow Leopard.

Malware is a virtually constant plague for Windows users and an entire industry has been built around protecting the Windows operating system from viruses, worms, Trojans, and other malware threats. Microsoft-bashers claim it's a function of poor design and insecure coding by Microsoft, but security experts have also debated whether or not it is more a function of the virtual monopoly Windows has enjoyed as a desktop operating system.

Apple demonstrated an increased concern for malware on the Mac OS X operating system by including malware detection as one of the many updates in Snow Leopard. It seems that Apple realizes that the size of the bullseye painted on the operating system is in direct proportion to the number of systems using the operating system.

It makes sense. Arguments of superior design and security aside, malware is a business. If you were designing a wonder-widget, would you want to target it at a broad audience of millions around the world, or build your wonder-widgets for a small niche audience? Similarly, if you are trying to maximize the profit potential of your malware, would you write a virus that targets millions of Windows systems around the world, or invest your time exploiting holes in the relatively niche Mac OS X operating system?

Well, now that niche is hitting the mainstream. Redmond doesn't need to be too paranoid about Snow Leopard taking over the desktop market any time soon, but the fact of the matter is that the operating system has matured and Snow Leopard in particular introduces a number of updates and features that make it more viable for both consumers and businesses.

Hopefully Apple's newfound malware concern is misguided though since the malware detection in Snow Leopard offers nothing to actually block or remove any threats. Essentially, the antimalware feature in Snow Leopard is simply a modification of the Mac OS X File Quarantine feature. It takes the File Quarantine process one step farther by comparing files against a database of known threats to notify the user that the file may be malware.

Should a user ignore the warnings, or if a threat comes through that is not recognized as a known threat in the database, Snow Leopard could still become compromised by the malware. To actually scan and clean Snow Leopard systems users will have to look into third-party malware protection tools.
PC World

Report: Snow Leopard To Confront Mac Malware

Adding anti-malware to Snow Leopard is a Catch-22 for Apple: In solving a problem, Apple must first admit a problem actually exists. Which is hard when one of your major selling points is that you're secure and your major competitor--Microsoft Windows--is not.

Security vendor Intego made the apparent discovery of anti-malware features in Snow Leopard, evidence of which is being shown on its Web site. Apple has neither confirmed or denied the report.

If there really is anti-malware in Snow Leopard, due for release on Friday, it would be helpful for Apple to fess-up now. It would improve first-day sales, which might help Apple forget the bitter taste of crow, which Microsoft will presumably serve up.

There seems to be no compelling reason for Apple to add the feature right now. The world is not suffering a pandemic of Apple malware. Rather, most Mac users continue to run their systems without any type of protection.

Nevertheless, adding the protection, if that is what Apple has really done, is a good idea. If it is a good anti-malware solution and offers all the protection a user needs, it will make Snow Leopard a good deal and worth the expense.

Having just yesterday complained that even at $10 (in a 5-user package) the Snow Leopard upgrade might cost more than its worth, I am ready to change my mind. I'd happily pay a good bit more than $10 to have Apple solve all my malware troubles, even the ones I don't yet have.

It is clear that, over time, Macintosh will become a more frequent malware target. Apple's free ride is going to come to an end. It is wise for Apple to deal with the future challenge itself, though a free upgrade would reach many more users more quickly than Snow Leopard will following its release this Friday.

But, since there is no hurry and the feature presumably costs money (and certainly adds value) an inexpensive paid upgrade makes sense.

PC World