To all those that think they are safe because they don't run windows are sorely mistaken. Security by obfuscation is not security...it's the equivolent of putting your head in the sand and hoping the hackers don't find you.
If you were a hacker and wanted to wreak havoc, who would you attack? Linux which is mainly used on servers and secured behind corporate firewalls? Mac which is used in graphics design and not a large portion of desktop environments? Or Windows where they have a large footprint in Server farms and dekstops?
If I wrote a virus that attacked 100% of Macs, the impact would be neglible on most corporations and home users; therefore, I won't waste my time.
Yes, I can imagine someone who doesn't know what it feels like to not worry about viruses and not get bitten for that lack of concern to say that. I'm technical enough to be a system administrator. I'm not concerned. Feel free to be worried for me, though.
If you were a hacker and wanted to wreak havoc, who would you attack? Linux which is mainly used on servers and secured behind corporate firewalls? Mac which is used in graphics design and not a large portion of desktop environments? Or Windows where they have a large footprint in Server farms and dekstops?
But the bottom line is that Macs and Linux machines are not subject to virus and worm attacks like Windows, thus those of us who use Macs and Linux don't have to constantly run around installing and updating software to keep them out. It's a non-issue.
If I wrote a virus that attacked 100% of Macs, the impact would be neglible on most corporations and home users; therefore, I won't waste my time.
Assuming that you could. I never underestimate a Windows advocates' ability to ignore the poor security architecture of Windows with the excuse that everyone must have the same problem. The truth is that at several points during the development of Windows, Microsoft had a choice between open, easy, and flexible or secure and more difficult to use and almost every time, Microsoft chose "open, easy, and flexible", which is why Microsoft systems are so "open, easy, and flexible" for hackers.
Security by Obfuscation??? It is Windows users who obfuscate this issue...
I think you are referring to that old canard "Security by obscurity."
Let's see... In the past two years, crackers have written a virus that attacked a hardware router with fewer than 40,000 installed base. They've written a virus that invaded a cell phone with fewer than 25,000 manufactured. The previous Mac operating system (OS9.2 and lower) had 113 viruses (including all variations) created for it by crackers.
Macintosh OSX has been in use for over five years, yet in those five years these crackers have come up with how many viruses for OSX??? ZERO.
There have been two trojans reported that impacted fewer than ten users who were greedy enough to think that a 400k file was a cracked version of Microsoft Office for Mac... and gave it permission to install on their computer and had it erase their user files... but it left the system untouched and operational. There have also been a couple or three proofs of concept announced (usually by an anti-virus company spreading FUD) who'e vulnerabilities were patched within a week of their announcement... all of them required ROOT access to work.
A expert programmer in both the Windows invironment and in various forms of Unix as well as a security expert, stated that on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is the difficulty of writing a Windows virus, the Mac comes in at a 9. Crackers write viruses for the accolade of their peers... and the greatest accolade would be for writing a virus that brings down the "arrogant, condescending, and smug" Mac users! Where is it, For-q?
There have been several substantial CASH prizes for writing a viable, transmittable and self propagating virus for the Mac (the last offering had to be withdrawn because of legal reasons) but all of them have gone unclaimed.
The US Army and the FBI have selected Macintosh OSX computers because of their inherent security...
The challenge is out there... write your virus. We are not worried.