Originally Posted by lesr
If the Mac system is not more secure then please let me know why most all of the spyware and virus are on the Windows system.
There are no viruses that are not “proof of concept” on the Mac. The percentage of the total number of virus are close to 100% Windows based.
Please also look into the often quoted “Mac have such a small market share".
Just under 50% of the total number of Window based units listed are used as Cash registers
While the Mac does not have as large a market share as Window it is tends to be about 20% of actual computer users. As well Hackers do not target the Mac as the OS is more difficult to Hack [Not imposable] but more to the point a large percentage of the hacks on Windows come from individuals that do not have the experience to be able to hack any system but are able to buy programs that are pre made to use the issues within Windows.
From the tone of your message I take it that you do not like Mac's and that is fine there is no reason that you must like them. But please do look into both sides and do not state just your dislike.
Well, Lesr, I didn't want to reply to this without some hard facts. I hate it when people make up numbers and stats just to sound intelligent. Anyway, there's one very simple reason why the lion's share of viruses are Windows specific. Again, I will bring up market share. According to NetMarketshare (a respected organization that collects and sells data on cross-platform statistics) 90.7% of all desktops in the world are running either WindowsXP, Vista or Windows7. Keep in mind that doesn't include any of the server OSs or legacy systems still running Windows2000 or even Windows95. Macs only account for 4.39% of the world's desktops (that's Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6. If you were a hacker which would you program for? Affect 90% or 4%? Yeah. (
OS market share)
Also, this whole issue of Macs not getting viruses is a myth. Here's an example of one documented on Sophos' website (
OSX/Leap-A Macintosh worm (CME-4, MacOS/Leap, MacOS/Leap!tgz, OSX.Leap.A, OSX/Leap) - Sophos security analysis) For those that are unfamiliar with Sophos they are a premier antivirus software company (more reliable than Symantec). That particular virus is the root of many other viruses and is similar to the windows viruses you mentioned assembled by script kiddies.
When it comes down to it, a lot of Mac users don't even use anti-virus software. So unless they got a really nasty virus that deleted their hard drive, they wouldn't even know it. Many viruses are simply trojans that run silent processes on your hardware - unknown to you. But I suppose, unless it disrupts the Mac user's use of their system, then it's OK. Yeah, right.
On a slightly different tack: if Macs don't get viruses, how come the Apple website recommends running antivirus software on every Mac? (
Mac OS X 10.6 Help: Protecting your computer from harmful applications)
For those that are gonna bring up Linux and Unix as being "more secure" and "don't get viruses": think again. Here's a few from 2005 (
LXer: FeriCyde Chat: The Linux Virus Threat List for 2005, and I'm sure there are more now. That's one thing you can rely on in the world of computer security - the number of potential vulnerabilities is always growing.
I don't want to sound like a jerk here, but I'm a IT professional with over 20 years of experience. I have a degree in Information Technology and Networking, which included courses on computer security and operating systems. When you get right down to it, the differences between operating systems (Windows / Mac OS / Linux / etc) are growing smaller everyday. This largely stems from a unified set of user needs that crosses every platform. There is also a lot of cross-platform hardware sharing. You can find Unix-based code within just about every operating system on the market today. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that they are the same. They're not. But the underlying logic is similar enough across the platforms that hackers can use the same logic to hack any system. The only things that change are the unique system vulnerabilities and the tools created to exploit them. Those change almost daily.
So, in short, I'm really tired of hearing people tout Macs and Linux platforms as the end-all-be-all solution to the world's computing woes. They're not. They're just another platform, with more or less the same potential vulnerabilities.The biggest vulnerability ANY system has is the user using the system. Do you know how many times I've seen people answer spam phishing emails and include their username, password, address, phone number, and occasionally social security number? It's insane!