Apple Mac Malware Problem is Unacceptable According To Apple Executive and Craig Federighi, one of the top executives at Apple, is not happy. He recently made his displeasure known in court. In response to questions from Apple’s lawyers, he said, “Today, we have a level of malware on the Mac that we don’t find acceptable.”
Federighi made the statement to defend Apple’s longstanding strategy to create what amounts to a walled-off garden where all of its hardware and software lives.
While it’s a valid, viable approach, Apple has sometimes made enemies of other companies. A recent case in point involves Epic Games and their award-winning title, Fortnite, which Apple banned from the App Store.
Apple banned it in response to Epic including a direct payment system for in-game currency to bypass Apple’s standard 30 percent fee.
Epic says Apple’s approach is too restrictive. Apple points to the current levels of malware and the potential ways an embedded payment system abuse as a reason to stay the course.
Mac’s malware problem is worse than Apple’s iPads and iPhones because they only install apps from Apple’s App Store, while Mac users install software from anywhere.
Federighi compared MacOS to a car, while iOS was designed with child safety as the primary concern, saying:
“The Mac is a car. You can take it off road if you want and you can drive wherever you want. That’s what you wanted to buy. There’s a certain level of responsibility required. With iOS, you wanted to buy something where children can operate an iOS device and feel safe doing so. It’s really a different product.”
The core argument here is that taking a more permissive attitude with apps and where they can be installed would have a profound impact on the iOS ecosystem, almost certainly not for the better. Unfortunately, given the recent Epic v. Apple court case, it may no longer be their decision to make.
Stay tuned for the court’s ruling on the matter, and if you’re an Apple iPhone user, hang onto your hat. Depending on how the courts decide, big changes may be coming for you.
