OS X 10.5.7 Update Beefs Up Security, Adds Application Fixes

From DailyTech: Tuesday saw the anticipated release of OS X 10.5.7, a service pack-like update to Apple's current version of OS X (10.5). While Apple advertised the update as primarily a stability and performance boost, it also included a great deal of security fixes -- 68 in total.

The numerous fixes reveal that Apple, on a base OS level, as well as the applications layer, isn’t immune to exploits, a theme which Apple glosses over in its commercials. Many of Apple's vulnerabilities lie in the open source components it uses, including BIND, PHP, and Ruby.

Security researcher Andrew Storms, director of security operations for nCircle, states, "Who would have thought that OS X was so insecure? Nearly every component of Apple's OS and its applications are touched by security-related fixes in the latest massive update from Apple. This is a real wake-up call for everyone that has been touting the Mac OS as more secure than Windows."

Even Microsoft takes for granted that Macs are less exploited. Microsoft last week released an important patch to PowerPoint which prevents a security exploit. However, as the current version of the exploit code solely targets Windows machines, Microsofthas declined to release a patch for PowerPoint for Macs.

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