Symantec to Apple: “You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake”

So,
I just downloaded the

Symantec DeepSight report on OS X security after I came across
a headline about it
on SecurityFocus (which, just for the record, is owned by Symantec), and I have
to say that I have mixed feelings about it: mixed feelings because I usually
don’t expect much from Symantec, and also because the document is not exactly
"chock full" of original content (much of the data/information is repackaging of
publically available material.)  However, at the end of the day I have to
give this report a rating of "on the right track" because it does a good job of
calling out some of the mythology surrounding OS X.

Of course, you have to take a minute to consider Symantec’s goal in doing this -
they’re

not the most unbiased party in the world.  It financially benefits them
to establish OS X as an attack-prone platform.  So take the report with a
grain of salt.  However, as one Mac owner (and fan of
user-choice) to another, I’m terrified by Apple’s marketing: they keep banging
the "Mac users don’t need to care about security" drum – going so far as to
advertise that message on national TV that Mac’s don’t get malware or get
hacked.  I’ve made the point again and again that the facts do not support
this; Apple users need to pay attention to security just as much as other
computer users.  Apple’s encouraging their user base to ignore security is
a disservice.  I would ask fellow Mac users this question: Apple advertises
that Macs

don’t freeze or crash; if you use a Mac, compare that with your own
experience. Do you think the "Macs don’t need security" message is any
different? 

But, those things aside, here’s some highlights from the report:

OS X is not BSD:  So, we’ve all heard about about how
Apple is more secure because it’s based on BSD, right?  From a marketing
standpoint, it’s pretty much "front and center" in Apple’s OS X claims. You
know, like when Apple says, "Beneath the surface of Mac OS X lies an industrial-strength UNIX
foundation … Time-tested security protocols in Mac OS X keep your Mac
out of harm