“Jan. 15, 2002: In an email to Microsoft employees Chairman Bill Gates announces a ‘Trustworthy Computing’ initiative and declares: ‘Our products should emphasize security right out of the box.’ Number of security fixes for Windows XP since then? One hundred,” Stephen Manes writes for Forbes. “When it comes to security, you can trust Microsoft to reveal three serious flaws in its operating system every month. Now it’s getting into the antivirus and antispyware businesses its gaffes singlehandedly created. Great. So much malware is directed at Windows that an unprotected PC directly connected to the Net will crash within ten minutes. But you can defend yourself. Here’s a ten-point plan.”
One of Manes’ points is, “Mull Macs: Although Apple has issued dozens of fixes for Mac OS X, the system has proven far more secure than Windows. At least for now viruses and spyware are virtually unknown in Macland. But don’t let a Mac give you a false sense of security: It won’t protect you against, say, e-mail tricksters phishing for your credit card number.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The interesting thing is that if you took the Mac option and dropped Windows, you could reduce the “ten-point plan” to the 3-5 of Manes’ points that involve simple common sense.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Microsoft tries to turn its own security flaw into commercial gain – February 25, 2005
Cybersecurity advisor Clarke questions why anybody would buy from Microsoft – February 18, 2005
Microsoft’s Gates espouses homogenous operating system environments for better security – February 07, 2005
Windows’ mounting security problems make some consumers eager to purchase Macs – January 03, 2005
Windows Media songs and videos found to carry Windows malware payloads – December 30, 2004
Anzae/Inzae worm affects all Windows versions after 3.1; Macintosh unaffected – December 28, 2004
Unlike Windows users, Mac OS X users surf the Internet without a care in the world – December 28, 2004
Multiple unpatched Windows holes crop up; Windows systems compromised within minutes in experiment – December 24, 2004
Windows spyware mess is out of control, get a Mac and surf with impunity – December 21, 2004
New Microsoft Internet Explorer exploit spoofs Web sites on fully patched Windows XP systems – December 17, 2004
Microsoft may charge extra for Windows spyware protection software – December 16, 2004
Detroit Free Press: Windows malware problem getting worse, it’s time to get a Mac instead – December 16, 2004
Sick of spyware, adware headaches? Get a Mac and surf the Internet freely – December 13, 2004
Mossberg: Windows PCs plagued with problems, Apple’s Mac is ‘rock solid, elegant and affordable’ – December 09, 2004
Security expert: Don’t use Microsoft Windows, Office, Outlook, Internet Explorer – December 09, 2004
Security test: Windows XP system easily compromised while Apple’s Mac OS X stands safe and secure – November 30, 2004
Sick of spyware, adware infecting your PC? Don’t fret, just get a Mac – November 01, 2004
Microsoft: The safest way to run Windows is on your Mac – October 08, 2004
Spyware plagues Windows users while Mac users surf Net with impunity – November 01, 2004
Ballmer blames Windows users for not upgrading systems as Microsoft’s biggest security problem – October 22, 2004
Windows users line up to pay for spyware removal; Mac users surf Web with impunity – October 18, 2004
Microsoft: The safest way to run Windows is on your Mac – October 08, 2004
Windows users’ security woes spark interest in Apple’s secure Mac OS X – October 06, 2004
Windows desktop monopoly threatened by secure, safe Apple Mac OS X – October 04, 2004
Even Bill Gates can’t avoid Windows malware; Mac users surf the Web freely – October 03, 2004
Cyber-security adviser uses Apple Macintosh to avoid Windows’ security woes – September 27, 2004
Information Security Investigator says switch from Windows to Mac OS X for security – September 24, 2004
Mossberg: Apple iMac G5 ‘powerful, affordable, virus-free with better, more modern OS than Windows XP’ – September 23, 2004
USA Today: people are switching from Windows to Mac because of security issues – September 21, 2004
Windows besieged by hackers; number of Windows viruses soars by more than 400% – September 20, 2004
USA Today columinst angry about Windows viruses, adware, spyware – September 15, 2004
University of Chicago recommends all students patch Windows at least once a day – September 14, 2004
Windows XP worm speaks to users as it deletes their files; Macintosh unaffected – September 13, 2004
Security is top priority in Apple’s Mac OS X – September 12, 2004
Millions of Windows PC’s hijacked by hackers, turned into zombies; Macintosh unaffected – September 08, 2004
Mossberg: Dump your Windows machine and get an Apple Macintosh to free yourself of spyware – August 25, 2004
Tired of patching patches to patch Windows patches? Writer suggests getting a Mac – August 03, 2004
Windows ‘Scob’ virus designed to steal financial data, passwords; Macintosh unaffected – June 26, 2004
Gartner: Worms jack up the total cost of Microsoft Windows – May 07, 2004
Spyware, adware plague Windows users online; Mac OS X users surf freely – April 19, 2004
SmartMoney: Long-suffering Windows users can only dare to dream of Mac’s ease-of-use – February 12, 2004
Mac OS X has no viruses; what’s wrong with Windows? – February 11, 2004
Gates: Windows ‘by far the most secure’ system; tries to use ‘Mac OS X secure through obscurity’ myth – January 27, 2004
Columnist tries the ‘security through obscurity’ myth to defend Windows vs. Macs on virus front – October 1, 2003
New York Times: Mac OS X ‘much more secure than Windows XP’ – September 18, 2003
Wall Street Journal’s Mossberg on making the switch from Windows to Mac – September 18, 2003
Fortune columnist: ‘get a Mac’ to thwart viruses; right answer for the wrong reasons – September 02, 2003
Shattering the Mac OS X ‘security through obscurity’ myth – August 28, 2003
Is Mac OS X really inherently more secure than Windows? – August 26, 2003
Chicago Sun-Times columnist: Windows ‘many holes in its security’ but ‘none of my Macs have ever been affected – August 26, 2003
Sick of worms and viruses? ‘Move to Mac OS X’ suggests Chicago Tribune columnist – August 25, 2003
Virus and worm problems not just due to market share; Windows inherently insecure vs. Mac OS X – August 24, 2003
I’m generally indifferent to the racist post above, but I do think that it strays a bit too far from the real topic at hand: The continued dominane of the Wintel platform over anything that Apple can shove down the throats of their pathetic fanboys.
Look, this Ten Point Plan makes perfect sense – except for the part about considering Macs. It’s a very well reasoned and reasonable plan that any casual computer user – including Grandma Millie – can follow.
And fuzzy slippers tickle my toes.
FIRST POST!
Being a journalist, I tend to stand on the side of free speech. You don’t like it? Don’t look.
I find Bloodman’s comments offensive, but then a little offensive speech stirs up people of good will to do something about it. Without ignorant bigots like him, we would probably become complacent and forget just how much evil there is in the world, such as his comments which remind us that there is.
(British not American) Free speech is fine. I just don’t believe hate filled people should abuse this platform to promote their bile in this way.
Evil exists because good people don’t do enough to stop it. MDN can make a start and remove Bloodomen comments. He had his moment of free speech and he blew it.
MDN Blocked my PC from Posting. I guess they are completely Pissed..
Cry Babies…
“Ball” as in “MDN, get on the ball and let us excercise OUR right of free speech because you obviously oppose it.”
Macaday,
“Evil”?? Isn’t that a stretch? Noone will argue that Bloodomen is a moron, but let’s not go overboard here.
Closing your eyes to a problem or censoring posts because you don’t like the words that are used doesn’t solve the problem.
They didn’t block me from posting. I don’t know what that imposter is talking about. I can post fine from my mom’s eMachine – just like always.
you forgot number 11…
11. Realize that beyond porn and ESPN, the internet is pretty much useless…when it’s working properly. Cute, huh?
Certainly the thoughts expressed were pretty evil. Not necessarily the person though.
Hey BSOD, I think you need to go and review some of the earlier apple commercials. Here, I’ve help you rewrite the script
1. Get a Mac.
2. Turn on the Firewall.
3. Surf with impunity.
4. There’s no step 4, there’s no step 4!!
To: Bloodomen=Damien?
Yes, racism is evil.
Yeah, they blocked my PC, and now they will block my Mac..FSCK EM.
PS: Shouldn’t the MDN Slogan be “WHERE MAC NEWS COMES SECOND”
OR MAYBE THIRD?
“BOTH” as in “Both Mac and PC users are really the same, They are all morons.”
Free speech is one of the things that makes MDN so popular. Take that away and you take away a big chunk of the experience.
If you need to get rid of something how about that stupd Magic Word thing at the end of each page? Oh yes, and the popup ads.
Note the spelling Bloodomen used: arse.
Americans don’t spell it that way. Users of British English do.
It won’t protect you against, say, e-mail tricksters phishing for your credit card number … or dumb articles like this one.
How to protect yourself against….
1) Get all PCs
2) Destroy
3) Get a neutron bomb
4) Set it off in Redmond
Observer-
How do Americans spell arse?
Jerry T:
We spell it “A-S-S-H-O-L-E”.
Spunkloving-
That dooesn’t spell arse. It spells A-S-S-H-O-L-E.
Bloodomen: Hate speech is not cool. I agree with the suggestion that you try speaking that word in public without hiding behind a screen name.
I think MDN should edit or delete Bloodomens post if for no other reason than it is morally offensive. As offensive, or even maybe more so than if Bloodomen had talked about sodomizing little children or that the Nazi holocaust was a good idea. The fact is what he wrote is generally very insulting to a large group of MDN readers and contributes zilch to the topic.
My 2¢…
—
Magic word: keep. “Keep on letting your forums spiral down the toilet and there won’t be anything worth reading in these forums by crap.”
congrats to MDN on non censorship!
I just checked my copy of the U.S. Constitution (yes, I’m American) and it appears that the idiot has the right to be offensive (free speech and all that) while I do not have a right to not be offended (which I was so I will just deal with it). Actually all that works perfectly for me because the day may come where my opinions offend someone and it’s already politically incorrect to “think” here (thanks to both left wing loonies and right wing nut caes) and I do not want to hasten the day when free speech (however ignorant or offensive) is regarded as thought crimes.
Now I know what kind of person he really is and I can take that into account when he expresses his other opinions. And until then he can just go fsck (saved you the trouble of editing there MDN) himself.
Benn says –“Free speech is one of the things that makes MDN so popular.”
I think it’s actually free, anonymous, speech.
REMEMBER-
When you only preserve “YOUR” free speech they eventually come in the middle of the night for you.
Continued pop-unders and racial epithets. Some policy.
One last time: There is no “Speech” to protect here. The poster just spewed a bunch of juvenile racist bile and moved on. He said nothing. The idea that we can learn something about him or the existence of evil is fatuous — if only because we have no idea what screen name he’ll use next time.
Please note that censorship refers only to government suppression of speech. Private individuals who publish newspapers, write books, or host message boards are free to delete comments at will. MDN has chosen not to do so in this case. That decision effectively let the poster’s comments and peoples’ reactions to them overwhelm the thread and destroy any hope of actually discussing the topic. So, the poster wins and MDN and its readers lose.
Had the topic been one of actual importance or interest, that would have been a real loss to this little community.
Its not censorship for MDN to delete posts such as the one we’re discussing. It is (would have been) responsible editorial supervision.
It’s way too late to delete that post since this topic is now only about that one post. But perhaps MDN can learn from this episode and act more responsibly the next time.