NX bit in OS X

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Level 4

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NX bit in OS X

(wiki article for reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NX_bit)
It says in that article that OS X Intel "supports" the NX bit, but nothing about whether it's on by default.
Is it, and if not, how can I turn it on?

Thanks for helping me secure my Mac!

17" iMac 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5GB RAM 160GB hard drive, Mac OS X (10.5.6), iPod 5th gen (with video) 30GB.

Posted on Mar 25, 2009 7:53 PM

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Answer 1

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nerowolfe

Level 6

13,090 points

Mar 25, 2009 8:04 PM in response to joshz

joshz wrote:
(wiki article for reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NX_bit)
It says in that article that OS X Intel "supports" the NX bit, but nothing about whether it's on by default.
Is it, and if not, how can I turn it on?

Thanks for helping me secure my Mac!

I don't think it's a user-operated switch.
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=35308

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Answer 2

joshz Author

Level 4

3,290 points

Mar 26, 2009 7:19 AM in response to nerowolfe

Thanks for the info, nerowolfe!

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Answer 3

biovizier

Level 5

7,925 points

Mar 26, 2009 8:11 AM in response to joshz

..." it says in that article that OS X Intel "supports" the NX bit, but nothing about whether it's on by default."...

I think it's safe to say the guy being interviewed here knows what they are talking about, and implies that if it is implemented at all in Leopard, it isn't doing much good...
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pwn2own-mac-hack,2254-4.html

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Answer 4

joshz Author

Level 4

3,290 points

Mar 26, 2009 8:20 AM in response to biovizier

o_O.
That's actually where I read about it. Odd coincidence. (Well, not too odd considering it was on slashdot, I guess.)

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