by Keith Richardson
“Spring has sprung, the grass has riz, we wonder where them MacBooks is!” Writing in mid-April, still no sign of the “new MacBookPro” we’ve been dreaming of. By now, it may be available. Retailers have been reporting difficulty reordering existing models.
Seen the new iPad? While it’s attractive and quick, we applaud you if you decided to save $100 and purchase the iPad2. Whether you bought a ‘Pad from Apple, or an Android tab from Asus, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, or Acer, you’ve joined the ranks of those shunning “computers” for “tablets.” If you chose an Android, is it all that you’d hoped for? Let us know. For reviews of the “top 5 Android tablets,” check out CNET’s March 19th review: “best-5-android-tablets”.
April saw aggravated bruxism among some Apple users. A handful (us too) had temporary difficulty with iCloud email, although it likely had to do with having ancient passwords that no longer fit Apple’s current parameters. The problem was fixed with a little help from a courteous and supportive Apple techspert in Orlando, Apple Discussions online, and a little intuition.
More serious was the revelation of serious malware (associated with Java programming language) that a Russian source claimed “infected as many as 600,000 Macs globally” (an estimate many have dubbed “dubious”). We don’t know anyone touched by it. Regardless, Apple not only plugged the vulnerability with two Java security updates for Macs running OS 10.6.8 or 10.7.3, but then supplied a third that removed the infection from afflicted machines and made it much more difficult for other evil geniuses to devalue OS X. If you’re a Mac owner and haven’t already read about this, check out any of your favourite Mac sites or try reedcorner.net/news.php/about-the-flashback-malware/ . For a table of Apple security updates over the past 15 months go to support.apple.com/kb/HT1222 .
In an April 16 opinion piece titled “Lessons for IT, Apple in Flashback brouhaha,” Ryan Faas falls all over himself trying both to braise and praise Apple and Mac users. While “Apple didn’t handle the initial situation well….Ultimately, the company dealt with the problem in a way that protected the most non-technical of users and did so at no cost to them….Whether you like Apple or not, the move shows commitment to its users. Sure, it could have issued an initial patch, scheduled a follow-up release later on, and never looked back, but it didn’t.” Faas writes frequently in Computerworld about Apple, its products, and their place in the world.
For those interested in the question of Macs and security, we heartily endorse Thomas Reed’s “Reed Corner Design” site (reedcorner.net). Google “Mac Malware Guide” to see a comprehensive list of the 25 malware (trojan) threats Apple Macs have faced in recent years, of which only 2 rated higher than “low” and are now protected against by Apple’s recent software updates. 14 items on his list have a threat level of “None.” Speaking of updates from the “mothership,” always accept them: they’re free and released for our benefit!
Wikipedia has a decent introduction to malware: “malicious software designed to disrupt computer operation, gather sensitive information, or gain unauthorized access to computer systems.While it is sometimes software, it can also appear in the form of script or code. Malware is a general term used to describe any kind of software or code specifically designed to exploit a computer, or the data it contains, without consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software.
Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware, adware, most rootkits, and other malicious programs. In law, malware is sometimes known as a computer contaminant, for instance in the legal codes of several U.S. states, including California and West Virginia.
Malware is not the same as defective software, which is software that has a legitimate purpose but contains harmful bugs that were not noticed before release. Sometimes, malware is disguised as genuine software, and may come from an official company website. An example would be software used for useful purposes that also includes tracking software to gather marketing statistics for advertising.
Therefore, some security programs may find “potentially unwanted programs” or “PUP”. Though a computer virus is malware that can reproduce itself, the term is sometimes used erroneously to refer to the entire category. An example of a computer virus which is not a malware, but is benevolent is Fred Cohen’s compression virus.” The remainder of this comprehensive Wiki article is similarly informative.
For a list of 1000 examples of malware for PCs, google “McAfee Current Malware.” At the bottom of the list of the newest 20, click View All. The good news: nearly all of them represent a “minimal threat,” and McAfee shows a much lower malware detection rate for Canada than the US.
For more info on computer security, take a look at other websites run by Symantec, F-Secure, Sophos, Kaspersky, and others.