Charlie Miller on Mac Defender

Brian X. Chen:

Should Mac customers install anti-virus software by default like most Windows customers do? Charlie Miller, a security researcher who has repeatedly won the annual Pwn2Own hacking contest by hacking Macs and iPhones, told Wired.com he doesn’t think so.

Miller noted that Microsoft recently pointed out that 1 in 14 downloads on Windows are malicious. And the fact that there is just one piece of Mac malware being widely discussed illustrates how rare malware still is on the Mac platform, he said.

Speaking of Charlie Miller, don’t forget his advice on web browser security.

★ Monday, 23 May 2011