Mac OS X is often trumpeted by Apple as having superior security but Charles Miller, a computer security researcher, says he’s set to reveal 20 Mac OS X security holes at a Canadian digital security conference next week. Miller says the Mac OS X security issues he’ll unveil have not been identified before.

Miller believes Mac OS X is seen as more secure because fewer bad guys are out to get it compared with Windows. He says: “Mac OS X is like living in a farmhouse in the country with no locks and Windows is living in a house with bars on the windows in the bad part of town.”

Last month, Aaron Portnoy, organiser of hacking contest Pwn2Own claimed that Windows 7 is more secure than Mac OS X while Kaspersky Labs suggested in January that Mac OS X Snow Leopard had out of date malware protection.

But while these Mac OS X security issues have got plenty of press, Windows security alerts seem to be more prevalent. Is Miller right when he says that’s because Windows is more widely used?

Which OS do you think is more secure? Windows 7 or Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Make sure you take a look at our Windows 7 review and Mac OS X Snow Leopard review while you’re pondering.

Out now | from £25 | Apple (via TUAW)

  • Tim

    Obviously Mac O/S is more secure, it always has been.

  • RealNeil

    Neither one is totally secure. I’m glad Mr. Miller is set to reveal any flaws in any OS. It makes them all better, bit by bit, (no pun intended) after they’re patched. I use OS-X, Win-7, and Ubuntu daily. Win-7 is miles ahead of Stinking Vista, OS-x is like a reliable old horse to ride, and Ubuntu is the new, free, and secure kid on the block.
    Windows being the one that hackers attack the most requires that you have good security software installed and luckily you can get a full set of free tools at: http://www.ninite.com

  • Paul

    I agree with Tim, Mac OS X is much more secure.

    When talking about Mac security the smaller market share argument is the most common line of BS in tech these days.

    If OS X had the market share that Windows has today it would still be virus free. OS X is built from the ground up to be a solid and secure military strength OS.

    OS X has lots of fictional viruses and security holes dreamed up in the heads of security consultants. But when it comes to living in the real world they vaporise.

    There has not been one self replicating virus on OS X since its conception in 2001.

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