I notcied today that security author Winn Schwartau switched to Apple. Earlier this week there was a quote from an Intel exec recommending people switch to Macs if security is a problem. I thought I'd chime in with my thoughts here.

A little over 2 years ago, I bought someone an iBook as a gift. At the time, I ran Linux on my laptops and work machines, I had been avoiding MS for years at this point. I quickly took note of Apple's slick hardware and OS, but the BSD underpinnings really won me over. Linux on laptops can be great or a pain, depending on several things, mainly drivers. It was a pain for me - wireless was flakey, power was quirky - lots of little problems. I didn't have time to fool with such configuration issues. I needed things to work - and Apple did. The Unix core of OS X allowed me to run most of the tools I needed and do some basic development as well. I ended up using the iBook most of the time myself, before I switched to a 12.1" Powerbook. It's a great little machine and with me most of the time.

I definitely recommend Apple for beginners and advanced users. For beginners - everything just works, with minimal security concerns compared to Wintel machines. For advanced users, you get the power of Unix and several open source applications as well. The OS itself is very stable and well designed. The hardware is very high quality as well. You certainly pay a premium, but the price difference has shrunk rapidly.
posted by mt at 10:48

Business Week has a piece with some info on the ShadowCrew bust.

There's a clear reason for this newfound collaboration: The bad guys are winning. They're stealing more money, swiping more identities, wrecking more corporate computers, and breaking into more secure networks than ever before. Total damage last year was at least $17.5 billion, a record -- and 30% higher than 2003, according to research firm Computer Economics Inc. Among the computers compromised were those at NASA, a break-in in which one of the prime suspects is a 16-year-old from the Swedish university town of Uppsala.

posted by mt at 16:51