Macs, iPads, and iPhones are not invincible

The claim Apple devices (Macs, iPads, iPhones, etc.) are immune to malware and "hacking" just aren't true.  Misleading commercials from Apple claiming , "iPads don't get computer viruses" do not help.  Apple devices may not get "computer viruses", but they have similar problems to Windows and Android.

The claim Apple devices (Macs, iPads, iPhones, etc.) are immune to malware and "hacking" just isn't true.  Several years ago it was closer to being truthful, because attackers/hackers didn't spend time trying to compromise Apple devices.  Attackers were more focused on hacking Windows systems, because there were far more Windows systems in the world.  Why would attackers spend time writing malware for systems that were used much less?  They could infect or impact Windows' users on a much larger scale, so that is where their time was spent due to the return on investment.  Windows still has a larger market share, more devices connected to the internet, but Apple devices are now being targeted more due to their popularity.  So the days of "Apple devices aren't hacked or infected with malware" are over.  

Apple devices may be more secure than Android and/or Windows due to some technical aspects, which I won’t bore you with the technical details, but recent incidents have shown they are definitely attacked and capable of getting infected with malware just like Windows and/or Android.  There are vulnerabilities discovered in Apple’s devices just like vulnerabilities are discovered in Android and/or Windows.  This explains why you receive Apple software updates to fix critical security flaws.  There are also malicious programs written for Apple devices, just like there are for Android and/or Windows.  Actually, one piece of widely used software, HandBrake, had one of their download mirrors compromised.  Mac users attempting to download the Mac version of HandBrake from that mirror ended up downloading a version containing malware (Proton RAT – remote access trojan).  In this case, the Windows version of the software wasn't impacted, so the attackers only focused on Mac users.  This isn't an isolated case as there are other reports of software for the Mac being malicious.  

Let me also squash the myth of the Apple app store being free of malware.  There have been instances where apps in the in the Apple app store have been malicious or contained malware.  There may be reasons why people say the Apple app store is safer than the Android or Windows app stores, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have it's own issues and unfortunately these trends will most certainly continue.

I’m not saying Apple devices are less secure or you should avoid them.  I just wanted to let Apple users know Macs, iPads, iPhones, etc. can also be hacked or infected with malware.  It can be easy to forget when Apple fans continue to claim Apple devices are immune from viruses and can't be hacked.  Or when Apple runs commercials that say, “iPads do not get computer viruses.”  They may not get the same “computer virus” a Windows computer would get, but that is due to the malware/virus needing to be written/coded differently.  Apple devices will, and can, get their own type of malware/viruses.  Novice users could see that commercial and think they have a free pass to do whatever they want, because their iPad would never get a "computer virus."  So although this commercial is true to a point, it is extremely misleading in my opinion.  There have been instances where malware was coded to detect if it was being run on a Windows or Apple device and it would install itself based on the operating system detected.  Meaning, one piece of malware was written for both Apple's OS and Windows' OS.

This post is a simple reminder that everyone needs to be careful regardless of which operating system or device they use.  Anything connected to the internet can, and some say will, be hacked or infected with malware, so be careful out there.