New Safari Flaw, Worms Turn Spotlight on Apple Security

Apple Mac users have raised similar objections to Sophos over the companys descriptions of the Leap worm, Cluley said.

OS X users are a passionate—at times evangelical—group who sometimes construe security warnings about their operating system as dark plots from Windows-backers to discredit the platform, Cluley said.

"I think the problem is that people love Apple Macs. And they consider them superior to Windows. Its a minority choice, but one [Mac users] want to defend," he said.

Apple OS X has considerable security features built in, including a firewall and automatic update features that only recently became standard on the Windows platform, Ullrich said.

OS X also segregates user roles better than Windows, so that a user is less likely to be logged on as an administrator who can take any action on the operating system, he said.

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Still, the string of security warnings will prompt some to reevaluate the security posture of Macs, Ullrich said.

"I think Mac users are having growing pains. Theyre realizing that theyre vulnerable, too," he said.

Anti-virus vendors cautioned that the new threats were of little concern to most Internet users.

"This is really a warning shot across the bow. Its not something that going to cause serious problems to anyone," said Cluley.

Mac OS X users should start doing things that have been advised for Windows users for years: download and install regular security updates, use a desktop firewall and install anti-virus software, Cluley said.

"The chance of encountering any of these [OS X] threats is low. But that doesnt mean you dont have to take security seriously," he said.

Editors Note: This story was updated to include comments from an Apple spokesperson.

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