Apple fans: You're going to need an anti-malware tool

This post from eWeek reminded me to remind my friends using iOS (Apple) products that at some point they are really going to need anti-malware tools for their devices. 

One of the problems that will get in the way of their security is Apple - the company doesn't want to own up to device security. 

iOS Needs Antivirus Protection: Kaspersky

From the post:

Last week, Kaspersky was again talking about Apple, this time saying he was “a little bit disappointed … Apple won’t let us” develop antivirus software for iOS devices, including iPhones and iPads. In an interview with The Register news site, he warned that—like with Macs and Mac OS X—the rapidly growing popularity in the iOS devices will mean that criminals increasingly will target the operating system.

“We as a security company are not able to develop true endpoint security for iOS,” Kaspersky toldThe Register. “That will mean disaster for Apple.”

However, he said, right now, hackers are content to hit up other platforms that are less complicated than iOS.

“They are happy with Windows computers,” Kaspersky said. “Now, they are happy with Mac. They are happy with Android. It is much more difficult to infect iOS, but it is possible and when it happens, it will be the worst-case scenario because there will be no protection. The Apple SDK won’t let us do it.”

Eugene Kaspersky will of course make money if his company can sell anti-malware tools to iOS consumers. In this case that doesn't necessarily mean he's wrong. His estimate that "Apple is 10 years behind Microsoft in terms of security" probably isn't that far off. 

Microsoft spent years harming us with ineffective security on their products while being the target of almost all malware attacks because of their market share. What self-respecting criminal or teen-age geek would write software to attack less than 10% of the market when 90% was ripe for the picking?

Those years of attacks and Microsoft's response have made Microsoft products much safer. And now with the success of the iPhone and iPad attacking iOS isn't as absurd as it once was. Kaspersky thinks it's only a matter of time - and it will be a disaster for Apple and its customers. 

Visit On-Site Technical Solutions for information on how you can move to Google Apps or other Cloud Computing applications. Call us for all of your network computing and business IT needs. We can also help with your data security and mobile computing. Follow us online below. Call or text me at 1-949-212-2168.

 

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How Apple won the West (and lost the world)

Our clients are businesses with less than 100 computers. We tell them it's a tossup between iOS and Android when it comes to smartphones. (With computers and tablets iOS, Windows or Chrome/Android). Of course, all of our clients are in the USA, which means the telecoms are subsidizing the cost of our smartphones with expensive data plans. The current cost of Android and iOS devices are pretty close, although less expensive but feature-rich Android tablets may be on the near horizon (see the ASUS Transformer). 

In this post from The Register, Matt Asay discusses some of the reasons we may see much more growth world-wide in Android devices while Apple remains more profitable with its devices in the developed world. 

Thom Holwerda is thus largely correct in asserting that "the iPhone's impact on the world is negligible", whatever its impact on markets for the rich. This isn't to disparage what Apple has done, but to put it in context, and to serve as a reminder of just how revolutionary Android promises to be for the world.

Does this mean we'll see more cost-effective advances in the Android devices? If nothing else, we should see the cost of tablets and smartphones continue to drop. How much pressure this puts on Apple remains to be seen. 

How Apple won the West (and lost the world) • The Register

And here's the link to to Thom Holwerda's piece again: What Makes Android Revolutionary

Visit On-Site Technical Solutions for information on how you can move to Google Apps or other Cloud Computing applications. Call us for all of your network computing and business IT needs. We can also help with your data security and mobile computing. Follow us online below. Call or text me at 1-949-212-2168.

 

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