Apple fixes critical security issues with Mac OS X update

Apple released Mac OS X 10.6.8 yesterday. Most of the media reports have focused on the fact that it prepares your Mac for Mac OS X Lion, but it also fixes a wheelbarrow’s worth of security vulnerabilities.

It’s important to understand that cybercriminals don’t need to exploit a software vulnerability to infect a Windows or Apple Mac computer, or to steal sensitive information – all you need is some clever social engineering to trick the user into making a bad decision.

But that’s not to say that exploiting a vulnerability can’t make the job even easier for a malicious hacker if users haven’t properly kept their computers up-to-date with security patches.

And that’s one of the reasons why it’s so important to take the health of your computer seriously when your OS vendor releases a security update.

So, if you use a Mac, it makes sense to consider installing the Mac OS X 10.6.8 update, and patch your iMac or MacBook against the latest security vulnerabilities – before they’re…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the anti-virus industry having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent security analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of computer security, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley, on Mastodon at @[email protected], or drop him an email.