• Many Mac users are proud of the security on their Apple computers. One Sweden-based Mac enthusiast issued an open challenge to attackers to gain root control on his Mac Mini system, which he set as a server by giving local client access for the target system to the participants.
• The attacker who won the challenge took just 30 minutes to gain root control on the system. According to the individual who won the challenge, root access is actually very easy to gain on Mac OS X. He made use of a vulnerability not published or patched by Apple. According to security researcher Neil Archibald, various vulnerabilities are present in Mac OS X that can be exploited by attackers. The attacker can get complete privileges on the system to delete files and folders or install malicious applications.

Why do many Mac users feel that their system is more secure than other available operating systems?

What are some of the vulnerabilities of a Macintosh operating system?