Posted on 02/06/2010 12:09:39 PM PST by driftdiver
When I am asked the question "Which is more secure, Mac or PC?" I find myself stumbling around for a response because I don't have a clear-cut answer. I use both. And I use antivirus software with both.
So I decided to conduct an informal survey of a bunch of security experts and see what they had to say in the hopes that people can use the information to help them come to their own conclusions.
Before I provide quotes from the 32 experts who participated in the survey, along with edited comments from an interview with a Microsoft representative and a link that Apple provided, I'd like to share some relevant research from antivirus vendor ESET.
More than half of Americans believe that PCs are "very" or "extremely" vulnerable to cybercrime attacks, while only 20 percent say the same about Macs, according to this ESET survey. (Credit: ESET)
ESET released the results of a survey in November related to awareness of cybercrime in the U.S. The survey of more than 1,000 people found that while both PC and Mac users perceive the Mac as being safer, Mac users are victims of cybercrime just as frequently as PC user
(Excerpt) Read more at news.cnet.com ...
Yes, a Mac is 100 percent safe from viruses designed to attack PCs. And although no computer connected to the Internet is completely immune to all viruses and spyware, the Mac is built on a solid UNIX foundation and designed with security in mind. The Mac web browser, Safari, alerts you whenever you’re downloading an application — even if it’s disguised as a picture or movie file. And Apple continually makes free security updates available for Mac owners. You can even have them download automatically.
But then I’m just a criminal to you star, right? Stop posting to me.
I'm posting to a thread... you posted the thread. It's for readers of the thread...
You'll notice that I posted comments to Post #1 -- which happens to be the "thread" itself... LOL...
One thing that seems to be overlooked. Macs OSX machines are more expensive, ergo they are used by more upscale people with a probability of higher incomes. Now if I were targeting people to pilfer bank accounts etc. Who would I target? Yes Macs have a smaller market share, but that does not necessarily make them safer. A study should be made of how many Macs are attacked in total as compared to the number of Macs out there. That will give you the risk factor. If say 2 out of 15 macs get attacked but 10 out of 85 PC’s get attacked, the percentages are almost the same.
Nice theory... if it was only true that it happened relatively more often... LOL...
Stop posting to me.
The major threat out there today are criminals looking for money. There is no profit is destroying your hard drive but there is a huge profit potential to compromising your server or machine.
The next motive is theft of information. Information that can be used to make money or for national interests.
The weakest point on any system is the user. If you can get a user to take a certain action you can do just about anything.
If you have to spend a lot of money or time developing an attack would you target 5% of the target population or the 95%?
Wasn’t looking for the admin to step in. If star has any class he will get the point and stop posting to me. He refuses to actually debate the points in the article and instead throws out the same ole tired message.
I posted this article because its a well written unbiased article using many expert sources. IMO it represents the reality of computer security. There are numerous threat vectors and addressing only one is a sure way to be compromised.
Don’t post an article and I won’t post to that article... otherwise... I post to the #1 Post... on an article when posting to it... that’s the way it works... unless I’m answering a particular person on a particular comment that they make to me.
In this particular case, you’ve posted to me — on this particular post... I won’t be carrying on a conversation with you if you don’t carry on with me. I’ll only post to the general article itself for all the readers...
I was just having some fun with an old thread :)
Stop posting to me. You are a vile creature.
Stop posting to me. You are a vile creature.
I'm not sure how to explain this to you, but I'll try... if you are not posting to me... I'm not posting to you... it's that simple... nothing complicated... :-)
Now, on the article itself -- up above -- I'll post only to "Post #1" in answer to the article and for all readers... that's how that part works...
I hope you get it... :-)
NP, it seems the only threads the apple crowd will allow are those which portray Mac in glowing terms.
We still have free speech in America so I will continue trying to represent an alternate and valid view that Macs are not impervious to attack. At least until Jim or one of his mods gives me the boot.
Stop posting to me.
IMHO computer security is just like seat belts and door locks... they’re dependent upon the end consumer using them appropriately.
If a Mac user figures that his computer is completely safe right out of the box, he is less likely to use antivirus software, perform backups, password-protect his computer or other basic functions to keep his computer protected. 999 times out of 1000, he’ll be fine... the same way most of us would be fine driving to work every day without fastening our seatbelts or using turn signals.
Though a computer virus can attack virtually any computer, it is a bit more difficult for a Mac to contract one. The reason it is said that Mac computers are less likely to get a virus is due to the fact that Mac OS X is founded on the UNIX kernel, which is thought to be the safest operating system available. A kernel is the main component of an operating system, which is responsible for managing memory, disk drives and processor; and the first thing that loads into memory during system startup is the kernel. Another reason why Mac users get less viruses when compared to Windows users is due to the fact that there aren’t as many users of Mac. If a hacker would write a virus to harm computers, he would wish to cause damage to the greatest number of users and obviously those users are Windows users. It is approximated that nearly half-a-billion people use Windows, while Mac has only twenty five million users. If we go into some detail, we find out that over 80% of Windows users are home users and the remaining are business users. If we look at Mac, we find an opposite trend - 90% of Mac users use it for business purposes and 10% use it at home.
For a hacker, it is not so easy to create a virus - it's a very complicated task. Hackers know that most people use Windows and chances are that they, too, are more familiar with Windows than Mac. Therefore, they do not bother themselves to learn a new system to develop a virus for it. It is unlikely they would do it even if doing this will gain them a few more million victims. Thousands of tools, scripts, code and software that has already been written is mainly designed for Windows operating system, so half of the problem is already solved for them. Those individuals who run Windows operating system as a cross platform machine on Mac are also not safe from Windows viruses. Although, Mac users are safer from viruses than Windows users are, it must be noted that they are not completely safe from the rapidly growing viruses. Never know, tomorrow they may become as vulnerable as Windows users. Apple advises Mac users to install antivirus software to strengthen their immune system against rising dangerous threats.
“IMHO computer security is just like seat belts and door locks... they’re dependent upon the end consumer using them appropriately.”
I would agree to a point. Except in this case there are drivers out there looking to cause accidents.
Stop posting to me.
I'm not posting to you... as I've said... I'm posting to this Macintosh thread about viruses and such... :-)
stop posting to me
He’s toying with you. Stop answering.
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