Snow Leopard packing antivirus software?

If the online chatter is to be believed, Apple's very soon to be released Snow Leopard has in its code new protection for fighting malware. According to the picture above corroborated by other online reports, a DMG downloaded by Safari was checked by the OS and found to contain the "RSPlug.A" Trojan. The system promptly suggests you eject the disk image to avoid damage. Should Apple really be treading down this path, it begs the question of how often and how comprehensive / aggressive the company will be updating its antivirus logs. If nothing else, it's a certainly a notable symbolic gesture that the one-time underdog might be gaining enough market share to catch the attention of the darker side of the internet -- and all of a sudden, David Puddy isn't looking nearly as bad.

[Thanks, David]

[Silverfox2000 Posted Aug 26th 2009 4:05PM]

In this context, the major differences in security amongst operating systems are:

1) The volume vulnerabilities and
2) The ratio of vulnerabilities against those actually exploited

OS X and Windows have vulnerabilities, except Windows has a higher incidence of vulnerabilities. Windows also has a much higher ratio of exploited vulnerabilities (viruses, trojans, worms, malware) than OS X. Therefore the likelihood of having problems is greater in Windows. Of course that does not mean OS X is immune, but in 9 years of being around viruses still do not exist and other issues in OS X have been minimal.

Some will say this is a function of market share but that notion is false. Consider this:
In the 1990s Apple had a market share of about 5%, yet OS 9, OS 8 and prior, had viruses and A/V was a necessity. These days Apple has a little under 10% market share, yet no viruses exist, and the other malware in existence is so minimal that it is negligible.

These two points show that OS X's code is of greater quality and resiliency to security threats. Therefore Apple continues having a very strong leg to stand on now and into the future.

[Silverfox2000 Posted Aug 26th 2009 4:16PM]

"If that's about to change, then Apple might not have much of a leg to stand on."

That's a big if. But yeah, you would be right on that point if things changed.

[SgtR Posted Aug 26th 2009 2:30PM]

I've got a good drinking game - Everytime a fanboy uses the word 'monopoly' take a drink.

You would hit the floor before reaching the first page!

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 26th 2009 3:29PM]

@ FoxKenji

:) So how many people have you called "big boy" now in this discussion? Who else do you call "big boy"?

[Silverfox2000 Posted Aug 26th 2009 4:09PM]

haha. Ever seen that show on FOX called "Hell's Kitchen" with chef Ramsay?
It's funny how he goes around calling some of the bigger-sized contestants "big boy"

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 26th 2009 4:14PM]

Yeah I like Ramsay.

Anyways... I try not to get contentious. Don't take it personally haha... I'm a "habitual line stepper"... High-five to whoever knows that reference.

[Silverfox2000 Posted Aug 26th 2009 4:19PM]

pshaw you got me there :)

[jhdezjr Posted Aug 26th 2009 4:49PM]

Never saw this coming, then again... hey! software isn't perfect:)

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 26th 2009 5:32PM]

Engadget Reporting FAIL right there. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/25/snow_leopard_malware_protection/

The Register notes that Apple has simply included information on two Trojan Horses, OSX.RSPlug.A and OSX.Iservice, in one of Snow Leopard's system files, identified to MacRumors as the following:

/System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/XProtect.plist

While Apple could certainly update this file with identifying information for new threats that arise in the future, there does not appear to be a full-fledged antivirus package with regularly-updated virus definitions deployed in Snow Leopard.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 26th 2009 7:04PM]

what's up with apple and naming their os's after endangered jungle cats? i found a funny post on the subject: http://onthebutton.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/apple-snow-leopard/

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 26th 2009 8:56PM]

Re "now they will say that they have the first OS with antivirus ;) "

Actually, windows 3.1 shipped with Microsoft Antivirus, XP shipped with Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool, and Vista and 7 ship with Windows Defender... Mind you, I've never actually seen any of these programs actually detect a virus, but still.