Apple Recommends Mac Users to Use Antivirus Software!

Very surprisingly enough but Apple has asked all the Mac users to use anti-virus softwares for their computers. Though Apple says that there is nothing alarming in it and it is not that Mac has gone insecure, but something is not right I feel.

Apple quietly signaled its shift with an item titled “Mac OS: Antivirus utilities” posted on its Support Web site November 21 and the item offers three software suggestions: Intego VirusBarrier X5 and Symantec Norton Anti-Virus 11 for Macintosh, both available from the Apple Online Store, and McAfee VirusScan for Mac.

Apple is realizing that malware these days is targeting data, and valuable data exists just as much on an OS platform that is a Mac as it does on an OS platform that is Windows. Apple encourages the widespread use of multiple antivirus utilities so that virus programmers have more than one application to circumvent, thus making the whole virus writing process more difficult.

A Symantec spokesperson provided this statement when asked for comment:

Symantec has long encouraged consumers to use a security solution, regardless of the platform, especially with the rise in platform-agnostic threats like malicious Web sites and online scams.

The most concerning part is, according to a recent research done by Microsoft, a staggering increase of  90% trojans have been recorded who target specific data and doesn’t corrupt any file. Mainly they are keyloggers intended to steal sensitive data from others’ computers and send it to the person who has made it.

While Apple may be worried about this thing and act as an advisor who couldn’t care less for his children, I feel, its high time to be aware of security loopholes of the computer you have. No matter which OS you use. Beware Mac users, you are definitely not secure after this.

[source: news.cnet.com]