I wish to debate for a bit. You're technically right on so much of this but keep coming to Apple-sucks conclusions that I don't feel are warranted.
Let's grant this: if malicious code can start executing on OS X as a regular user, it's game over. There are so many ways through the floor it's almost trivial. (the presence of BSD tools being largely irrelevant since there were far easier ways in the door that are guaranteed to be installed)
And let's grant this: Apple has been very late in rolling out an explicit malware detection and removal systems.
And let's grant this: Microsoft understands what they're up against when it comes to security. Malware damaged the Windows XP install base to the point where it was necessary to stop production on their #1 moneymaker in order to rescue it.
I can't support your assertion that Gatekeeper is a power grab. The defaults on 10.8 allow any and all signed software bundles to be installed regardless of where they came from.
Mac App Store can at the very least "prove" that apps are only able to call public APIs, there's a minor but real financial and logistical barrier to entry, and developers and apps can be revoked. All apps must be sandboxed (for better and for worse) and updates must come through a known source.
As for the argument that Apple is doing security by obscurity, I think they've been doing fine. To review the ways I know of to trash a Mac: Drive by web plugin attack, network attack, e-mail attachment attack, tricked into authenticating Installer.app.
I think we can all agree that all major OSes are a lot better about controlling ports open by default nowadays.
Web: Safari is sandboxed. Flash is sandboxed. Extensions are sandboxed and signed. All out of date flash plugins are purged automatically at system boot. Java has basically been disabled across the entire Mac ecosystem. In-line PDFs are handled by the OS.
Disk Mounter refuses to mount known bad .dmgs. Installer.app has a blacklist. Both of these update nightly. System Update will shortly match the default policies and cadence of Windows Update.
PDFs are handled by a sandboxed built-in App, short-circuiting the nightmare that is Adobe Acrobat Reader. There's no AutoRun concept for mounted volumes. ASLR at multiple levels is in use. Signed frameworks are in use. Etc, etc, etc.
I'd argue that a Mac out of the box being used by an novice operator is pretty well protected, with more to come. And these novice operators are the ones who do the most damage to software platforms by blindly installing shit. Apple's straightjacket provides better results for them.
Finally, iOS: the ivory-est of all ivory towers. Name an app that's done real-world damage, because I haven't heard of one.
Let's grant this: if malicious code can start executing on OS X as a regular user, it's game over. There are so many ways through the floor it's almost trivial. (the presence of BSD tools being largely irrelevant since there were far easier ways in the door that are guaranteed to be installed)
And let's grant this: Apple has been very late in rolling out an explicit malware detection and removal systems.
And let's grant this: Microsoft understands what they're up against when it comes to security. Malware damaged the Windows XP install base to the point where it was necessary to stop production on their #1 moneymaker in order to rescue it.
I can't support your assertion that Gatekeeper is a power grab. The defaults on 10.8 allow any and all signed software bundles to be installed regardless of where they came from.
Mac App Store can at the very least "prove" that apps are only able to call public APIs, there's a minor but real financial and logistical barrier to entry, and developers and apps can be revoked. All apps must be sandboxed (for better and for worse) and updates must come through a known source.
As for the argument that Apple is doing security by obscurity, I think they've been doing fine. To review the ways I know of to trash a Mac: Drive by web plugin attack, network attack, e-mail attachment attack, tricked into authenticating Installer.app.
I think we can all agree that all major OSes are a lot better about controlling ports open by default nowadays.
Web: Safari is sandboxed. Flash is sandboxed. Extensions are sandboxed and signed. All out of date flash plugins are purged automatically at system boot. Java has basically been disabled across the entire Mac ecosystem. In-line PDFs are handled by the OS.
Disk Mounter refuses to mount known bad .dmgs. Installer.app has a blacklist. Both of these update nightly. System Update will shortly match the default policies and cadence of Windows Update.
PDFs are handled by a sandboxed built-in App, short-circuiting the nightmare that is Adobe Acrobat Reader. There's no AutoRun concept for mounted volumes. ASLR at multiple levels is in use. Signed frameworks are in use. Etc, etc, etc.
I'd argue that a Mac out of the box being used by an novice operator is pretty well protected, with more to come. And these novice operators are the ones who do the most damage to software platforms by blindly installing shit. Apple's straightjacket provides better results for them.
Finally, iOS: the ivory-est of all ivory towers. Name an app that's done real-world damage, because I haven't heard of one.