Enterprise Mac Security: Mac OS X Snow Leopard

2.3. Stopping Services, Daemons, and Processes

Imagine that each of the running services, daemons, or processes on your system have their own door. Some of the doors are well secured, made of steel with a complex system of locks that only a true master could finesse their way through. Others are made of flimsy gauze and might as well have big flashing lights that say, "Waltz on in!"

Notice that neither extreme refers to a 100% safe door. There's no such thing. The reality is that most of the services, daemons, and processes fall somewhere between the two extremes, where each running item presents a risk that a script kiddy, hacker, malware-writer, phished, spammer, scammer, thief, or other type of malcontent will jimmy a specific door open. ...