Worms in the Apple
THE PHENOMENAL POPULARITY of the iPod is matched only by the ambition of the company that makes it. But as Apple Computer tries to push its devices and computers into the living room and beyond, it is facing many of the same risks that have long plagued PCs. And those risks should concern the hundreds of millions of Americans who watch TV, not just the few thousand who watch TV on an iPod.
Apple’s computers have long been a haven, untouched by the viruses, spyware and other malicious software (a.k.a. “malware”) that pose a constant threat to computers running Microsoft Windows. Apple zealots argue that the Mac’s latest operating system is fundamentally more secure than Windows. Some security experts counter that the Mac’s resistance to attack hasn’t really been tested because most virus writers haven’t bothered to develop Mac versions of their vile handiwork.
That’s starting to change. Computer security firms recently reported the first two Mac worms -- malware that transmits itself automatically from computer to computer. They also reported a flaw in the latest Mac operating system that raised the chilling possibility of Web surfers being surreptitiously infected with software that hijacked their computers.
The situation is hardly as dire for Macs as it is for Windows PCs. There, the virus-writing craft has shifted from pranksters to profiteers, who make money by having armies of infected computers churn out spam, search for personal data or shut down websites. Nevertheless, the implication of the latest attacks is clear: No computer is really safe. And the biggest vulnerability isn’t insecure operating systems, it’s gullible users who install malicious software on their own machines -- either because they are duped or, in the case of many spyware programs, they want to get something for nothing.
The stakes will get bigger as computers make their way from the den into the living room. This week Apple introduced an iPod-powered boombox and two Macs that can integrate a TV set into a computer network, allowing TVs to play videos or songs stored anywhere in the home. Microsoft has been trying for years to get into the home entertainment center, but Apple’s knack for usability and its design flair more than offset its rival’s head start.
Once millions of homes have computers powering their audiovisual systems, count on malicious coders to try to fill the TV screen with unwanted commercials and pop-up come-ons for knives that never need sharpening and investment schemes in Nigeria. Whether they succeed will depend not just on the operating systems in use but on how careful people are. Mac users, you’ve been warned.
