eWeek has a "news analysis" declaring "Apple's shift to Intel processors will make it easier to create software exploits in Macintosh systems".
"Attackers have been focused on the [Intel] x86 for over a decade. Macintosh will have a lot more exposure than when it was on PowerPC," said Oliver Friedrichs, a senior manager at Symantec Corp. Security Response.
Correction: attackers have been focused on the *Windows OS* for over a decade. I'm not exactly sure what this has to do with the Mac. Red Hat Linux already runs on Intel -- are there a lot of viruses written for it?
I guess Mac moving to Intel means some assembly code compatibility but what good does this do you if the Mac's memory addressing and file system are different and you lack the usual Internet Explorer and MS Outlook exploits? Time will tell!
In any case, if you want to hear how bad viruses on the Mac is going to get, go to Symantec. They have a product to sell, after all. It remains to be seen whether it causes more problems on the Mac then it solves.
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Or, for the real tin-foil hat crowd - It's remarkably easy to imagine a Symantec slush fund group secretly writing a whole new market of viruses for the security company. And the best part is that they can do the old 'we told you so' when there's a sudden increase in Mac virii. Where there's money to be had...
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