Security of a Mac vs Windows 10

Gangster

Gangster

Gangster

Soldato
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Hi all,

First of all, I don't want this to be a silly flame war between the two. I know this has been exhausted, however I'd like a 2017 opinion on the matter.

I'm currently debating whether to purchase a Mac (iMac or Macbook Pro) or upgrade to a new PC.

One determining factor for me now is its security. Old rumour of Mac cannot be hacked etc (?), but I trust my iPad, much more than my PC. So my question is - am I correct in thinking in that way?

Has/Is Windows 10 as secure as a Mac? Opinions, facts etc
 
Think about it this way. As a hacker, you want to infect as many computers as possible. So which OS are you going to code a virus for? Windows.

It's not a case of macs can't get virus', just that there aren't as many. Though, because many people think they can't get them, they often don't run any anti AV software. This has resulted in a very high percentage of infected macs. https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/04/24/mac-malware-study/
 
MrRockliffe said:
Think about it this way. As a hacker, you want to infect as many computers as possible. So which OS are you going to code a virus for? Windows.

It's not a case of macs can't get virus', just that there aren't as many. Though, because many people think they can't get them, they often don't run any anti AV software. This has resulted in a very high percentage of infected macs. https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/04/24/mac-malware-study/
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Sophos would say that, they're trying to sell you an AV product!

Over the last few days, I've installed an AV package on this iMac and on my old iMac as well and run full system scans. Despite having migrated the OS on them with only one rebuild from scratch since I first got a Mac, over nine years ago, they didn't find anything. I'm not exactly shy about going to any sites that some people might consider 'dodgy'.

It would be churlish to suggest that Macs can't be hacked but it's very unusual.

The underlying OS on a Mac is more secure than Windows. Be sensible, if something asks for your admin password and you're not expecting it, don't enter it. Don't bypass the built in security and you'll be absolutely fine.
 
Feek said:
Sophos would say that, they're trying to sell you an AV product!

Over the last few days, I've installed an AV package on this iMac and on my old iMac as well and run full system scans. Despite having migrated the OS on them with only one rebuild from scratch since I first got a Mac, over nine years ago, they didn't find anything. I'm not exactly shy about going to any sites that some people might consider 'dodgy'.

It would be churlish to suggest that Macs can't be hacked but it's very unusual.

The underlying OS on a Mac is more secure than Windows. Be sensible, if something asks for your admin password and you're not expecting it, don't enter it. Don't bypass the built in security and you'll be absolutely fine.
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That was just one of the links I found after a quick Google search - there are quite a few reports suggesting the same issue. I personally don't use AV on my laptop, but that's because I use it for work only.
 
Feek said:
Sophos would say that, they're trying to sell you an AV product!

Over the last few days, I've installed an AV package on this iMac and on my old iMac as well and run full system scans. Despite having migrated the OS on them with only one rebuild from scratch since I first got a Mac, over nine years ago, they didn't find anything. I'm not exactly shy about going to any sites that some people might consider 'dodgy'.

It would be churlish to suggest that Macs can't be hacked but it's very unusual.

The underlying OS on a Mac is more secure than Windows. Be sensible, if something asks for your admin password and you're not expecting it, don't enter it. Don't bypass the built in security and you'll be absolutely fine.
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I'm sorry but that is utter rubbish! Sophos product is free for personal use so not trying to sell you anything. Various things can be installed on your Mac without the end user having to put a password in, have a google about it.

Your post is bordering on irresponsible to be quite honest.
 
Yes, I know it's possible to install stuff without needing to authenticate - However, anything trying to install in protected system directories will need an administrator password. My advice about not entering your password when prompted if you're not expecting it and not bypassing the built in security (Gatekeeper and XProtect) is perfectly valid.

My point is that in a long time of internet usage, simply paying attention to what I do and not being stupid, I've not picked anything up. I stand by my comment that the underlying OS on a Mac is more secure than Windows and by being sensible, you're not going to have any problems.

This is an interesting read.

I accept there will probably be a time when one needs to use an AV product on MacOS. I don't think we're there yet.
 
Feek said:
This is an interesting read.

I accept there will probably be a time when one needs to use an AV product on MacOS. I don't think we're there yet.
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Fourth result from Google I read the same article. If people using a Mac truly believe its OK to go about your daily business with any AV then they are asking for trouble. The whole culture around general security needs to and is changing. With personal documents stored off site by default on Macs personal files have never been so accessible which is great until something nasty happens. Thats just one example of many.

I think the main question here is why wouldn't you have AV on your Mac? Its free, very resource light and you don't even know its there unless it detects something :confused: Smacks of people being stuck in their ways.
 
Windows 10 is nothing special security wise - few months back there was a bad MSE/Defender vulnerability that absolutely shouldn't have happened in the first place, they took months to fix some fairly bad security bugs when brought to their attention as well. I'll be unsurprised if another big security issue doesn't come up with it soon.

If they really cared about security they'd detach security updates from feature updates again so end users could streamline updates with maximum convenience and minimum downtime so more likely to be on top of security patches rather than deferring them.

Feek said:
My point is that in a long time of internet usage, simply paying attention to what I do and not being stupid, I've not picked anything up. I stand by my comment that the underlying OS on a Mac is more secure than Windows and by being sensible, you're not going to have any problems.
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Yeah I've seen malware go straight through UAC on Windows like it isn't even there - the superuser setup on *nix and so on is far less vulnerable to that.
 
To be fair every platform has it's security flaws. No point debating over something there isn't really anything to debate over. Let the security people worry about all of that.

Tell you what though, I do repairs and I have seen an increase in Apple ID's been stolen and devices remotely locked. When you remotely lock it, a 'bios' kind of password is added to the system so you can't even format the device.

Good security as long as you have 2FA attached! Apple will unlock it for you if the account was compromised. Anyone facing this issue must take their device into the Apple Store to have it unlocked and you need proof of purchase. It's a sod for anyone who purchased a device second hand!

There is an increase of stolen username and passwords though across all platforms!
 
mrbell1984 said:
To be fair every platform has it's security flaws. No point debating over something there isn't really anything to debate over. Let the security people worry about all of that.

Tell you what though, I do repairs and I have seen an increase in Apple ID's been stolen and devices remotely locked. When you remotely lock it, a 'bios' kind of password is added to the system so you can't even format the device.

Good security as long as you have 2FA attached! Apple will unlock it for you if the account was compromised. Anyone facing this issue must take their device into the Apple Store to have it unlocked and you need proof of purchase. It's a sod for anyone who purchased a device second hand!

There is an increase of stolen username and passwords though across all platforms!
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And the thing with the locking of icloud accounts/devices, you don't even need the 2FA. If you have someones AppleID and password you just log on and remote lock, it doesn't trigger a 2FA request.
 
One reason I use MacOS is that I can't be arsed with the maintenance of Windows (drivers, updates, virus scanning) anymore. One thing that helped with the switch is that I gave up gaming around the same time with the exception of Eve Online which has a MacOS client.
 
mrbell1984 said:
I didn't know this, I thought you need 2FA code or another device to authorise before logging it. Well it does on my account when 2FA is activated?
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I was inaccurate when I said it doesn’t trigger a 2FA, it does trigger but you don’t need it. On the iCloud website when you enter an Apple ID and password, if it has 2FA it will prompt for the 6 digit number, but you can choose the find my iPhone option below to remote lock/wipe the device.
 
mrbell1984 said:
I didn't see this! They need to move that link to "When you are logged in page".... that's shocking!
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I’m not a huge fan of it, but I think the reasoning is if you lose your phone or it gets stolen, you won’t necessarily have a device to receive 2FA on, so you can jump on a computer quickly and remote lock/wipe it. But it is obviously something that gets exploited by scammers.
 
VaderDSL said:
I’m not a huge fan of it, but I think the reasoning is if you lose your phone or it gets stolen, you won’t necessarily have a device to receive 2FA on, so you can jump on a computer quickly and remote lock/wipe it. But it is obviously something that gets exploited by scammers.
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I know what you mean. I'm not sure the 2FA actually works correctly as intended then thinking about it like that.
 
I suppose it’s worth shelling out for iCloud backup space if your device can be wiped without 2FA. I’m really surprised that’s an option though. If you don’t have access to your 2FA code, you should have to enter the recovery code you are given at the beginning of 2FA setup instead.
 
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