Heise Security, a security firm that explores all aspects of system safety, recently took a "second look" at Apple's latest revision to Mac OS X, 10.5 Leopard, which just recently released with stellar results. Apple has touted the newest build as a bastion of security - among other things - but Heise Security claims it is anything but.

It was reported that Mac OS X Leopard was very generous in offering resources over networks, whether those networks are safe or unsafe to share with. Even the most restrictive of settings still allowed some services to offer access to its resources over any network.

Many a security hole was found, but Heise Security's article had sparked a momentous debate over OS-packaged firewalls. Arguments over Leopard's firewalls and Windows firewalls unavoidably ensued, as such comparisons were made in the published finds.

A worthy claim stands, however, that no OS-bundled firewall was secure enough to cover all security holes. Third-party firewall and security solutions are still best advised, and it's likely that most Mac OS X users have already adopted this Internet-secure lifestyle.