The Mac Security Blog

As the dust settles on the many reports that have focused on Apple’s iPad since its announcement on Wednesday, people are starting to think about the future of the device and how people are going to use it. One issue that comes to mind, for us at least, is the question of iPad security. Is the iPad secure? What are the security risks for the device?

On the surface, the iPad is pretty much the same as the iPod touch or iPhone (without the built-in ability to make phone calls). It uses the same OS, and benefits from the same security features that the iPhone OS contains. One such feature is sandboxing, which Apple explains as follows:

In iPhone OS, each application is put in a sandbox that restricts the application to using only its own files and preferences, and limits the system resources to which the application has access. For example, an application can call the public networking APIs to communicate over a network, but has no direct access to the communications or networking hardware.

The main issue for iPad security remains that of jailbreaking, or hacking the device to allow the user to install software not sold through the Apple Store. We saw, last year, a number of malware attacks on jailbroken iPhones (such as this, this, and this.) If users jailbreak the iPad, it will be just as susceptible to such attacks, though the wifi version will be less at risk because its range will be more limited.

For now, though, the iPad seems as secure as the iPhone, but we’ll know more when the device is released.

2009 was another busy year for Mac security and malware, with new threats targeting Macs, iPhones being attacked, and a large number of Mac OS X vulnerabilities. We’ve prepared a PDF document with our annual report of all things related to Mac security. Download a copy to get an overview of what’s happened in the world of Mac security over the past 12 months. From Mac Trojan horses to iPhone malware, 2009 was a very busy year.

Adobe has released an update to Shockwave Player, to correct “vulnerabilities [that] could allow an attacker, who successfully exploits the vulnerabilities, to run malicious code on the affected system.” Two bugs are fixed: one which is “a buffer overflow vulnerability that could potentially lead to code execution,” and a second which involves “multiple integer overflow vulnerabilities that could potentially lead to code execution.”

The updated version of Shockwave is 11.5.6.606, and you can get the update here.

Apple has released Security Update 2010-001 which patches a dozen flaws in Mac OS X including some critical issues. Available for both Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6, this update notably fixes Flash Player flaws that Adobe patched last December. (We wrote about the Flash Player update when Adobe released it, advising users to update Flash Player on their own. This new Apple security update patches Flash Player to the same version as that released last December.)

Other fixes in this update prevent such things as arbitrary code execution that may occur when viewing TIFF and RAW images, or when listening to MP4 (AAC) audio files, and a denial-of-service issue with cupsd, the printing daemon in Mac OS X. The music and photo flaws are of the kind that can potentially be used to run code on a Mac that simply visits a booby-trapped website.

Users can apply the update via Software Update, or can download updaters from Apple’s Downloads page. The updater is 22 MB for Snow Leopard and 160 MB for Leopard.

Intego has just released VirusBarrier X6, which is much more than just an antivirus. In addition to being the best, most comprehensive antivirus and network protection program for Mac, it’s also the least expensive.

Intego’s customers have told the company a lot over the years, and one thing they wanted was lower prices, together with more flexible licensing. Intego listened to this request, and changed its policy: Not only is VirusBarrier X6 less expensive than the X5 version, but a standard pack of VirusBarrier X6 now protects up to 2 Macs, and a family pack is available to protect up to 5 Macs. Priced at $49.95 and $69.95 respectively, this makes VirusBarrier X6 the least expensive commercial antivirus on the market per Mac. (And, as we said above, it’s much more than just an antivirus, including most of the features from Intego’s NetBarrier personal firewall…)

VirusBarrier X6 now incorporates most of the features of NetBarrier, Intego’s personal firewall, in addition to its anti-malware features. To have the same level of protection as you now have with VirusBarrier X6, you would have needed both programs. Here’s an example of the savings you make with VirusBarrier X6:

With VirusBarrier X6, you save up to 82% compared to VirusBarrier X5!

With the family pack it’s even better: it costs $69.95 to protect 5 Macs, or less than $14 per Mac. With X5 software, 5 copies of NetBarrier and VirusBarrier, to protect 5 Macs, would cost nearly $700, and today you can do the same thing for only $69.95, or a saving of 90%.

“We listen closely to what our customers say about our products, and we made many changes to VirusBarrier X6. We added more than 100 new features, lowered our price, and added multi-Mac protection to our basic pack,” said Laurent Marteau, CEO Intego. “VirusBarrier is a better value than ever, offering antivirus and anti-malware protection, a two-way firewall, anti-phishing protection, web threat protection and much more.”

With the need to protect more Macs – many people have at least a desktop and laptop Mac, and many families have multiple Macs in their home – VirusBarrier X6 lets Mac users stay safe at the lowest cost. Check out VirusBarrier X6 now – there’s a free 30-day demo available so you can see just how comprehensive its feature set is.

*The prices given are suggested retail prices in the United States, not including sales tax, if applicable. Family pack only available for home users.