14 DAY TRIAL // Security firm Intego notes, via its Mac Security Blog, that 2010 was a busy year for Mac security and malware, with new threats targeting Macs, issues surrounding Apple’s iOS mobile operating system, problems with Flash and Acrobat, and a large number of Mac OS X vulnerabilities.
To detail all this, the security software vendor has prepared a PDF document with its annual report of all things related to Mac (Apple) security. Apple fans are being encouraged to download a copy and get an overview of what’s happened in the world of Mac security over the past 12 months, the company says.
According to Intego, “some of the more serious security issues are those related to flaws in software and operating systems.”
“Mac OS X, while more secure than Windows, contains its share of flaws, and Apple has to constantly keep on its toes to issue several dozen security updates each year, to Mac OS X in general, as well as to specific parts of Mac OS X that are often found to contain vulnerabilities,” the company explains.
The security firm reveals that Apple issued a total of 38 security updates in 2010 for Mac OS X, for other Apple software, as well as hardware.
“Apple’s market share increased in 2010, with an estimate in March 6 suggesting that the installed base of Mac OS X was around 11% in the United States,” Intego claims.
Although this is more than Apple’s actual sales figures, Intego believes it represents the fact that Mac users keep their computers longer than PC users.
On the iOS front, Intego notes that mobile platforms, including Apple’s, become ubiquitous, with security and privacy issues becoming serious issues.
“2010 was the year of iOS, with the official name of this operating system being changed in June from iPhone OS to reflect the growing importance of the platform,” Intego outlines.
The company acknowledges that “Apple issued a number of security updates to iOS: in February, in June, for a new major version of iOS, version 4, in August, and in September.”
“In November, Apple released iOS 4.2, the first iOS update for the iPad, and corrected some vulnerabilities at that time.”
For information on security issues targeting third party Mac software and Macintosh computers, as well as other security issues, download Intego’s report here.