As far as putting faith in the platform, it deserves that kind of faith, just from its actual and real life performance over the last several years.
Now, you’re saying that it’s simply because of its obscurity that nothing is happening (i.e., compromising the OS for control or a virus). Well, as I said, there are many different kinds of arguments out there as to the real reason why these compromises aren’t happening. You’ve just taken one particular reason as the one you want to adhere to. Others take it to be that the OS is more secure — as the reason.
So, as I said, one can go around and around about that — but it still remains that the Mac OS is not being compromised in real life situations (where people use their computers everyday). And that’s pretty much all people really care about.
And, furthermore, there is such a thing as something more secure and less secure. Now, let’s say that there can be a major compromise of any particular OS, if someone were to really, really try. Even if that were the case, there would still be the situation in which one OS is more secure than another OS, no matter if it’s true that someone could really compromise a system if they had enough resources and enough reasons to do so.
It is an argument, with many, that the Mac OS is that “more secure OS” no matter if it could be compromised if you pitted the CIA and the KGB at it, with unlimited resources and enough reasons to do so — or, on the other hand, if it simply is generating no interest (from anyone) to actively compromise it.
So, that is the opinion of many — that it is more secure. But, even so, the last word in the matter is that it is “secure in practice” (no matter what the reason), because, basically, no compromises are happening from viruses or from hackers controlling the Mac OS.
How many Mac platforms run data bases that store credit card info, run secure web sites that transact sensitive information, make money transfers, centrally store secrete information, fall victim to script kiddies, become bots in a network, or become magnets for fast spreading viruses, worms, or Trojans? Now why do you suppose the other, more wide spread platforms do? Now you tell me why when Macs are the superior platform, why all the dummies are still using those other platforms?
Why rob a church when the bank is where the money is stored?