Apple Says OS X Vulnerable to Security Breach

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Apple Says OS X Vulnerable to Security Breach

SEATTLE (Reuters) -  Apple Computer Inc., long considered to be 
relatively immune to the security holes and viruses that plague 
longtime rival Microsoft Corp.'s Windows, said on Friday a security 
hole in its software leaves users' computers vulnerable to attack.

Apple, warning of a rare security hole in the company's OS X 
operating system for the second time this month, said in a release 
that a "theoretical vulnerability" in an application used to get help 
while browsing the Web could expose users to a malicious software 
code.

The specific nature of the security hole, such as whether it makes 
the computer vulnerable to outsiders or allows virus-like code to 
enter the operating system, was not made clear. Cupertino, 
California-based Apple's officials declined to provide specific 
comment beyond the release.

Mac, and its legion of enthusiastic users, have long touted the 
benefits of owning Apple's Macintosh personal computer, such as its 
ease of use and immunity from the computer viruses that plague users 
of PCs running Microsoft's Windows operating system.

Apple urged users to go to its Web site 
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/ to download a free software 
update.

Microsoft, whose Windows market share of over 90 percent makes it an 
attractive target for virus writers and attackers, has been plagued 
with crippling security holes and malicious software exploiting them.

"While no operating system can be completely immune from all security 
issues, Mac OS X's UNIX-based architecture has so far turned out to 
be much better than most," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice 
president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

Apple says that OS X, which is based on a software system called Unix 
that is more than two decades old, is more robust because it is built 
with better permissioning tools and also draws upon the expertise of 
other software developers who write programs based on Unix.

Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder and chief executive, likes to take the 
stage to tell loyal users of the company's "insanely great" products 
with "the best operating system in the world" but the message from 
company officials on Friday was markedly toned down.

"Apple takes security very seriously and works quickly to address 
potential threats as we learn of them-in this case, before there was 
any actual risk to our customers," said Schiller.