The following is written by Marion K. Jenkins, PhD, FHIMSS, founder and CEO of QSE Technologies.
Many people are of the mistaken opinion that viruses and other malware only affect Windows-based PCs. After all, the viruses you always hear about seem to affect PCs, so they reason that switching to a Mac would solve their problems. That's like saying that since most of the monetary thefts in the United States involve dollars, switching to the Swiss Franc would protect you from theft in the United States.
There are more viruses that affect PCs because more people use PCs. However, that is changing, and as Apple products increase in popularity and market share, viruses and other security threats targeting Apple are on the increase. According to security company Panda, as of late last year there were 5,000 malware versions targeting the Mac, and the number was increasing by roughly 10 percent PER MONTH.
In May 2011, a serious threat known as Mac Defender was launched. In classic malware/scareware tactics, Mac Defender popped up and informed users that their Mac was infected. Users who clicked on a link inadvertently installed malware that could harvest credit card and other information.
This seemed to catch Apple by surprise. For several weeks the official corporate line at Apple, both for their phone and online support as well as their stores, was to neither confirm nor deny its existence. It was nearly a month before they acknowledged the issue and released a fix.
And many iPhone users were chagrined to learn earlier this year that their iPhones had been secretly collecting their whereabouts and saving it in a hidden data file. Whether Apple could access and/or use that data improperly is one thing, but if the data is stored, it seems logical that bad guys could also somehow access it for their own nefarious purposes.
And very recently security concerns have arisen around the use of "jailbreak" utilities that allow users to install (ahem) non-approved Apple apps to their iPhone or iPad could open them up to allow attackers unrestricted access to users' iPhones and iPads.
Here is some irony: Steve Wozniak, one of Apple's co-founders, was an early hacker, using a "blue box" to make free phone calls, including reportedly dialing the Vatican and pretending to be Henry Kissinger, asked to speak with the Pope.
Marion K. Jenkins, PhD, FHIMSS, is founder and CEO of QSE Technologies, which provides IT consulting and implementation services for ASCs and other medical facilities nationwide. Learn more about QSE Technologies at www.qsetech.com or contact Mr. Jenkins at marion.jenkins@qsetech.com.
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