14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has made an announcement on its Developer site, as well as via email, that programmers making a buck in the Mac App Store should get their Developer ID and sign apps to have their customers assured they’re not downloading any malware.
Developers are being informed via email that Apple believes “The Mac App Store is the safest place for users to get software for their Mac,” but that the company also wants “to protect users when they download applications from other places.”
“Developer ID is a new way to help prevent users from installing malware on their Mac,” says the Cupertino, California computer giant.
“Along with Gatekeeper, a new feature in Mountain Lion, signing applications with your Developer ID certificate provides users with the confidence that your application is not known malware and has not been tampered with,” the company explains.
“Get your applications ready for Gatekeeper today. It’s easy to get started with Developer ID using the automated certificate request tools in Xcode 4.3 or the Developer Certificate Utility,” reads the memo.
Gatekeeper helps prevent users from unknowingly downloading and installing malicious software, or malware, even if it stems from outside the boundaries of the Mac App Store.
All this while end-users can choose from three security options allowing them to download and run applications from anywhere, download and run apps from the Mac App Store and apps with a Developer ID, or download and run only apps from the Mac App Store.
On the Mountain Lion marketing page discussing the security side of the upcoming OS, Apple brags that “While malware is one of the biggest security challenges on personal computers, it’s hardly an issue on a Mac.”
The company pledges that it is "working hard to see that it won’t be.”