Here's some thoughts on the state of security in Apple computers:
Macs and Windows have one thing in common: HUMANS. Humans make the OS and applications, and humans use them. Since we are still not perfect, there will be issues. Also, Doug, why do you hate on Microsoft so much? When it comes to security Microsoft has a much better track record than Apple, Adobe, Google, Sun, etc.
-Stuart
Macs are, in my opinion, more secure than Windows. Unix or Unix-like operating systems start with a more restrictive set of permissions for the average user than Windows. However, "more secure" doesn't mean they are secure. Any OS, be it Windows, Unix, Linux or Mac, is more vulnerable if standard security practices are not followed on a regular basis.
-Chris
Being system agnostic in terms of support, but a Mac person in terms of personal purchases and preference, I take umbrage with the "decade behind" comment. I believe Macs are inherently more secure than Windows because of the Unix foundation, but simple popularity is the larger factor. With Apple's increasing popularity, it was only a matter of time until Mac users had to buy antivirus software. I don't think that day has arrived yet, but it may be as soon as some time this year.
-Corey
I would add that there is probably a sizeable population of Macs that are not very secure, not because of what Apple has or has not done, but because of the flawed notion that if you just buy the right product, you won't have to do anything because it is a superior product. Security happens by the practices you follow day to day, and the processes you put in place. If you don't put any in place, then you're destined to discover the flaws of your assumptions sooner or later.
-Dan
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Posted by Doug Barney on 05/04/20122 comments
It may sounds scary when I tell you the fixes set for next Tuesday plug 23 holes, but you might feel better to learn there are only seven patches.
Even more calming is the news that only three of the fixes will be classified as "critical", while the other four are merely "important".
The high vulnerability-to-patch ratio is not an anomaly. It's been that way for the bulk of this year.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 05/04/20121 comments
I've always been fascinated by storage. Not the confusing array of tools. Here's a test: Go to the EMC Web site and see if you understand how each and every tool fits in with each and every other tool. Mirroring, imaging, replication, backup (but not true restore), restore (but not true backup), file level vs. block, NAS vs. SAN. Talk about a confusing array of products -- and I haven't even gotten to the arrays.
What I like about storage is its exponential growth and the exponential possibilities. Nearly unlimited storage opens up a world (perhaps a universe) of possibilities. We could digitize our lives. It would be like a TiVo that records our every movement and sound.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 05/02/20121 comments
Readers respond to Doug's bashing of science fiction classic "Dune":
I read "Dune" in one sitting when I was in college. Long story short, I had to vacate my dorm room one weekend when the college hosted a series of events at the student union, and I needed a place for a couple hundred co-eds to stay. I served in the security detail that weekend, and had a LOT of free time to kill. So, reading "Dune" was what I did.
That original book was OK. At least it was something different from a lot of the science fiction I had read up to that time.
The books that came after it, however, rapidly devolved into schlock (in my opinion). It became a regular franchise, with several sequels written by Frank Herbert himself, and others written by his son and a co-author. Frank Herbert died in 1986, but "Dune" and its children lives on.
Don't worry about "Ulysses" and its rep. Gibberish is gibberish, and sometimes the emperor doesn't have any clothes. A lot of modern "serious" music is like that as well.
At any rate, that's what I think...
-Dennis
Shame on you for dissing "Dune", one of the great and original sci-fi classics. True, the sequels and his other writing sucked, but Dune was a magnificently detailed work.
-Anonymous
Please don't give up your day job to be a literary critic. So far you're two down.
-Don
I loved "Dune". I thought it was a more challenging and interesting than the accessible "Foundation" series. The worst book I had to slog through was "Moby Dick".
-Gene
I agree with worms (or Shai-Hulud), but the whole "Dune" saga is a masterpiece. I read all 18 books at least once. It is just a matter of taste, like food. Happy reading.
-Lucian
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Posted by Doug Barney on 05/02/20120 comments
In high school, every hipster doofus had to read "Dune." Slogged my way through 504 pages. Threw it down with 40 pages to go out of pure disgust. I wouldn't give Frank Herbert the satisfaction of finishing this waste of good pine.
The thing I remember from 30-plus years ago is these "Dune" worms were seemingly unstoppable. Just like Conficker. This Windows worm, now nearing its fifth birthday, isn't just old. It also hasn't been seriously updated for two years. Despite the neglect, Conficker remains a major threat, Redmond warns. In the last three years infections have increased 225 percent, and it's on pace to infect 2 million systems in the coming months.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 04/30/20128 comments
Readers share what they like and dislike with services provided by Dropbox and SkyDrive:
My mother is not one with whom you would typically relate as a tech-savvy person. She would always complain to me when one of my portable hard disks would not show up on her computer or when she had to connect the same drive to every single laptop to view the pictures of my marriage.
Though she is not technical, her requirements are indeed ones that would give Bill Gates a run for his money. She asked me whether there is some way by which she does not have to bother about connecting the portable hard disks to each and every laptop because that was too laborious. In addition, not really understanding, how hard disks worked, she connected the hard disk to the laptop and wondered why these pictures won't show up on my Galaxy Tab or iPhone.
With more than 200 GB of data, I knew that SkyDrive and Dropbox were not the solutions for me, therefore I ended up buying the Western Digital Live. It is a cloud storage service for home where you connect the HDD to your router. The HDD obtains an IP address and you are able to connect to the NAS from device on the network. WD also provides with an application that enables you to view pictures or data from your HDD to your tablets or smartphones. Also, I am able to share my HDD as a URL link with anyone on the network to connect to it remotely. Of course, it is password protected so not anyone can read information off the drive. I connect to the NAS from my work and from the library over the WAN, and the connectivity is very decent.
-Sandeep
I've been using Dropbox for about a year now and through referrals I have been able to keep ahead of my storage space requirements pretty easily. I believe it recently increased the total amount of free space you can earn to 18 GB. The Windows client and iPhone client works well, so unless I have a big incentive to try something different, I will probably stick with Dropbox.
-Dave
Check what happens with your billing when you finally do exceed your limit on dropbox, and then let me know which is the better deal.
-Lee
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Posted by Doug Barney on 04/30/20120 comments
Many of us are under the impression that Macs are inherently far more secure than Windows PCs, which is why I've bought no less than six Macs for my 4 kids -- even though they cost three times as much as an equivalent PC. I can't be bothered reinstalling Windows every six months, not to mention the time a horrid virus blasted my eight-year-old son with vile, unstoppable pop-ups -- pop-ups that would make Bob Guccione blush.
A theory on why Apple is safer is that there are fewer Macs to attack, so hackers don't bother. And the bad guys simply don't hate the Mac like they do Windows.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 04/30/20129 comments
I have a lot of old computers laying around. If something works, I just can't throw it away. In fact I am still trying force myself to toss out a Win 95 laptop. It doesn't have wireless (and doesn't even have an Ethernet port) so this thing is a Internet-less block of plastic and silicon. But it works, and I'd have to pay a dump or find an electronics drive to get rid of it. And it's my only machine that reads a 3.5 inch floppy.
For this artifact, a new version of Microsoft Security Essentials is, as Dr. Evil might say, inconsequential. For the decade-old XP box my five-year-old Kiley uses to play Candy Land (which is already well-protected by Security Essentials), version 4 of the software is of no consequence to her.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 04/27/20122 comments
Wondering what to do this summer? Tired of fishing for stripers, writing the great American novel or spending time with the fam? Why not play with the release preview of Windows 8? What could be better than using your own time and expertise to help Microsoft debug this OS so it can make untold billions? And with the sorry state of laptop and tablet screens, you won't even have to worry about getting one of those pesky tans while doing Microsoft this favor.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 04/27/20122 comments
This June is the 20th edition of TechEd. The June issue of Redmond magazine will preview this year's show. We'd like to hear from you about your past experiences, and what you're looking for at this year's show.
Reach out to me directly at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 04/25/20120 comments
This week Microsoft made its SkyDrive cloud storage service better -- then made it way worse. First, the good part: You can now upload folders and bigger files, files as huge as 2GB. The bad news: New users can only upload three of these puppies, as the new limit for the free service is 7GB, down from the formerly generous 25GB.
Compared to Google Drive, SkyDrive is downright roomy. Google only offers 5GB on the house.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 04/25/20126 comments