Columnist tries the ‘security through obscurity’ myth to defend Windows vs. Macs on virus front

It’s time for another columnist’s mea culpa on the order of David Pogue and David Zeiler. This time it’s Paul A. Gilster. His article, based on myth, not fact, has just hit the presses, so we’ll have to wait for (or help along) the mea culpa part.

In reference to the worm and viruses plaguing Windows PCs, “Some recent correspondents have said the solution is to get away from Microsoft altogether. After all, you don’t see huge virus attacks on Macs or Linux machines. But that response skirts the real issue. Yes, Microsoft’s security has been inadequate for a long time, but the reason Windows is being attacked is that it is the most widely used operating system and therefore the biggest target,” Paul A. Gilster writes for The News & Observer out of Raleigh, North Carolina.

Gilster continues, “I’ve been critical of Microsoft for many reasons, but not about this. What Microsoft is dealing with is pure human cussedness, a digital form of vandalism that would be turned on Apple or Red Hat or any other platform that became popular. Because of it, we have to slow our computer performance by adding anti-virus tools and firewalls, making the assumption that to be on the Internet is to be in danger. What a commentary that is on human nature. What a shame that a helpful tool has been hijacked, another reminder that the penalties for virus-writing need to be revised. How does the phrase ‘serious jail time’ sound?” Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Wrong, Paul. Mac OS X is not more secure than Windows because less people use OS X, making it less of a target. Mac OS X is more secure than Windows. Period. Read David Pogue’s mea culpa here for reference. Paul A. Gilster can be reached at gilster@mindspring.com.

Related MacDailyNews articles:
Is Mac OS X really inherently more secure than Windows? – August 26, 2003
BusinessWeek’s Haddad gets it wrong; thinks low market share spares Macs from viruses – August 28, 2003
Shattering the Mac OS X ‘security through obscurity’ myth – August 28, 2003
Fortune columnist: ‘get a Mac’ to thwart viruses; right answer for the wrong reasons – September 02, 2003
New York Times: Mac OS X ‘much more secure than Windows XP’ – September 18, 2003