{"id":49864,"date":"2016-02-16T07:20:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-16T15:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/?p=49864"},"modified":"2016-03-01T08:28:31","modified_gmt":"2016-03-01T16:28:31","slug":"the-state-of-mac-security-in-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/the-state-of-mac-security-in-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"The State of Mac Security in 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"State<\/p>\n

In the beginning, Macs were perceived as impenetrable and inherently secure machines that held a reputation besting its rival Windows operating system. For years, Apple was revered for creating one of the safest platforms in existence as OS X maintained a fa\u00e7ade of invincibility. But on this day 10 years ago, Intego announced the discovery of what is considered the first major Trojan horse in history to target Mac OS X. And so, you may be wondering a few things, for instance, how is the vulnerability of Macs perceived today? Is the overall threat landscape different now compared to the early days of Mac OS X? And what the heck can savvy Mac users do to protect themselves?<\/p>\n

These are all good questions that we’ll clear up, explaining how we got to the current state of Mac security in 2016, and also offering some tips how you can protect your Mac against highly-motivated hackers and malware writers targeting OS X.<\/p>\n

Old Myths Die Hard<\/h3>\n

\"Spying\"Among a variety of misconceptions about malware<\/a>, the most common myth is that \u201cMacs can\u2019t get viruses.\u201d However,\u00a0there really is no period of time in which this statement has ever been true.<\/p>\n

Since the dawn of Apple, every Mac OS has had some manner of virus or worm.\u00a0Elk Cloner, the very first Mac virus to be discovered in the wild, was written specifically for Apple DOS 3.3. In the 1990’s, Word macro viruses were the most prevalent and dangerous of all Mac viruses. (There have been macro viruses capable of spreading on Macs as long as people have used MS Office on Macs.) The first OS X specific worm was discovered by Intego in 2006, so Mac malware does\u00a0indeed exist. But it took many years for people to\u00a0fully\u00a0grasp this reality\u2014a realization that didn’t come to fruition\u00a0overnight.<\/p>\n

Of course, Apple added fuel to the frenzy with a clever marketing ploy that ultimately put its user-base in a lull. It\u2019s hard to forget those \u201cI\u2019m a PC, I\u2019m a Mac<\/a>\u201d commercials in which Apple claimed that only PCs have a malware problem, and that Macs don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

And the seeds of security complacency were sowed; disaster lurked on the horizon.<\/p>\n

\"I'm

photo credit: joseloya<\/a> via photopin<\/a> cc<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Although Apple has since changed its tune\u2014no longer touting Macs as “virus free”\u2014the campaign was nonetheless very successful, and even today the false perception of security lingers.<\/p>\n

Until recently, however, there was some truth to this perception: OS X faced significantly less risk of cyber attack than Windows. After all, with the release of Mac OS X 10.0 in March 2001, Apple\u2019s new operating system meant that much of the old Mac malware from the 80\u2019s and 90\u2019s would no longer be capable of running.<\/p>\n

With Mac OS X 10.0, five years would pass before the first major malware hit Macs. Due mostly in part to the lack of attention from hackers, Mac systems benefited for the better part of a decade, but as we entered the 21st century that all changed.<\/p>\n

Intego Jumps to Action, Fills a Void in Mac Security<\/h3>\n

\"Intego<\/p>\n

Intego made headway into the Mac market in 1997, becoming the first and only anti-virus firm to build security software exclusively for Mac<\/a>, focusing solely on protecting Macintosh computers.<\/p>\n

The writing was on the wall, but only Intego seemed to be\u00a0reading it: All Macs connecting to the Internet are susceptible to security problems with no exceptions.<\/p>\n

In a world where using the Internet exposes your computer to hackers, vandals and viruses, Intego realized the need for efficient security solutions that not only protect your Mac, but also give you peace of mind. And so a collection of highly-motivated engineers and other Mac experts founded Intego to fill a void in the security industry.<\/p>\n

\"IntegoIntego went on to become the first anti-virus company in the world to offer a personal firewall for Macintosh, releasing Intego NetBarrier<\/a> to provide incoming and outgoing firewall protection<\/a> when using a wireless network, which stops hackers in their tracks. The company was also the first to offer native Mac OS X (Cocoa) security solutions:<\/p>\n