Apparently, Apple thinks the level of malware on macOS is ‘unacceptable’

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

The ongoing lawsuit between Apple and Epic Games has brought some interesting facts to light, and yesterday’s courtroom action let another one slip. Senior VP of software engineering, Craig Federighi, was surprisingly forthright about the sorry state of security on the company’s macOS.

The upshot is that your Mac isn’t anywhere near as secure as your iPhone, even when Mac users download substantially less software. Federighi even went so far as to call the amount of malware on the Mac “unacceptable” to Apple, while he was trying to justify the locked-down App Store model on iOS.

In the context of the lawsuit brought by Epic Games, it’s a viable strategy. Epic is saying that the locked-down iOS App Store approach is anti-competitive because you can’t install apps from outside it ordinarily. Apple is saying that approach is necessary for the security of the platform, on a device that is filled with biometric data, has GPS, cameras, and microphones, and is on your person most of the day.

Taking this out of the context of the lawsuit, it’s clear that Apple needs to do more in its efforts to keep malware off the Mac platform. Federighi stated that there were 130 types of malware on macOS in the last twelve months alone, with one of those infecting over 300,000 devices.

Our advice? If you use a Mac, don’t download software from untrusted sources, and wherever possible, stick to apps downloaded from the App Store.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Apple will soon let you control its devices with your eyes and hand gestures
• These five apps are causing your phone’s battery to die faster
• Google Reader is kind of coming back to Chrome thanks to a new Follow button
• You’ll be able to get the new iMac, iPad Pro, and Apple TV 4K in stores starting May 21

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.