Symantec cautions Macintosh and Firefox users

Security application developer Symantec have warned the users of the Macintosh platform and Open Source browsers like Firefox that they are currently living under a false sense of security when it comes to safety from security glitches and bugs. The maker of Norton Antivirus application said that Firefox being an open source application is more susceptible to security risks than closed browsers like Internet Explorer and Opera.

The company published their latest Internet Security Threat Report on Monday, which claims that more and more hackers are getting into developing worms and other security hazards for these platforms. With the public trend showing a definite shift to usage of alternative web browsers, Firefox becomes a direct target for these developers.

Symantec said that their research found that over the past six months, nearly twice as many vulnerabilities surfaced in Mozilla browsers as in Explorer. As for the Mac platform, their report claimed: “It is now clear that the Mac OS is increasingly becoming a target for the malicious activity, contrary to popular belief that the Mac OS is immune to traditional security concerns”.

Some of the future technologies which can become a target for these security attacks as per the company as the IP telephony systems, wireless networks and mobile devices.