“It may or may not surprise you, but there are no OS X viruses (or worms or trojans), partly due to the implementation of OS and its almost-inaccessible Root,” Graham K. Rogers writes for The Bangkok Post. “Most Mac users never need Root access. We use Administrator privileges, and if Root is needed for installation of an application or for alterations to the system — what a virus would need to do — a user must enter a password. This physically and consciously acknowledges an event (and its consequences).”
“Mac naysayers would have us believe there are no viruses because there are so few Macs (this also applies to Linux and Unix platforms), although that could change with the Mac mini,” Rogers writes.
MacDailyNews Note: Rogers really should’ve written “relatively few Macs” above. Many more people use Macs than most people would think, but you need to look at installed base, not quarterly market share to see just how many Macs are really out there. See “More people use Apple Macs than you think; 8-12 percent of homes use Macs.” A quick trip to BoingBoing.net’s publicly-available stats page for a real world example, backs the installed base figures up by revealing an interesting figure: 14.5 % of their visitors so far this month are using Macs.
Rogers continues, “If the numbers of viruses for Windows keeps on growing (as of January this year, there were a total of 68,736 viruses detected, according to Symantec), the Mac may come in for some attention. There is no point spending all your time virus-writing, however, if viruses will not work. The only problem on OS X is from macros with Microsoft products and from mail attachments. These do not harm the Mac environment but may damage a Windows computer if sent. As a normal precaution, I do not open attachments, and trash them instantly.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If you haven’t done so already, get a Mac. It’s time. Article highlight: “Microsoft: The safest way to run Windows is on your Mac” – October 08, 2004
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Why Apple’s Mac OS X works better for people than Windows – March 02, 2005
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Detroit Free Press: Windows malware problem getting worse, it’s time to get a Mac instead – December 16, 2004
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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
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Coolness!
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whats the prize once the virus count hits 100 000… a mac mini?
like ostriches with their heads in the sand…
A quick trip to BoingBoing.net’s publicly-available stats page for a real world example, backs the installed base figures up by revealing an interesting figure: 14.5 % of their visitors so far this month are using Macs.
Yeah, except if you’re going to be touting numbers, how many of those computers are running OS X? Certainly not 100% or a number even close to that. And there are plenty of issues with pre-X Mac OSes
News from The Bangkok Post. What next MDN, Mac news from The Ethiopian Examiner?
Get your apple news round the world:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=apple&btnG=Search+News
Clark-
Yeah! I agree. Only American’s who know that they are better than everyone else should be able to write about Apple. Everyone else is just a waste of oxygen.
*satire*
Cpt. Obvious
Mar 12, 05 – 11:04 am
A quick trip to BoingBoing.net’s publicly-available stats page for a real world example, backs the installed base figures up by revealing an interesting figure: 14.5 % of their visitors so far this month are using Macs.
Yeah, except if you’re going to be touting numbers, how many of those computers are running OS X? Certainly not 100% or a number even close to that. And there are plenty of issues with pre-X Mac OS’s
If you break out the stats by OS type MAC 14.5% of the total boingboing.net hits Mac OS X 13.1% and Mac OS 1.3% . So of all Mac hits 9.5% are not Mac OS X hits so 90.5% are OSX. Neat I say that the conversion to OSX is almost complete.
this is the link to the stats break out page
http://boingboing.net/stats/awstats.boingboing.net.osdetail.html
“………And there are plenty of issues with pre-X Mac OSes…”
Cpt. Obvious….
Yeah, but the issures arent viruses or malware…I read somewhere that there are something like 68 (or so) viruses for Classic Macs “in the wild”…. and the last one hasn’t been seen since 1995 (or thereabouts)
I happen to have a Mac running OS 9.x on my network (online)… and I dont worry about malware attacking it either….
This is a testament to how well the Mac OS is (now) as far as security goes…. and how well the Mac OS has been in the past…
Can the same thing be said about the WinDoze platform ??
uhhh… I think not..
my god someone’s twigged on
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Hmmm, 14.5% on Macs but only 8% on Safari. I wonder how many mac people have their browser “cloaked” to look like they are on a windows machine. I do that sometimes – mostly when a site tells me it won’t work for the Macintosh. The thing is, a LOT of times it DOES work on my Mac – after I set the user agent to IE 6 on Windows.
MW – worked
This is misleading.
Technically, a trojan could gain access by prompting a user for an Admin password. Most people would just blindly give their password in order to get a certain piece of software to install…
How many people actually check the requestor information on the Admin password dialog? And even if they do, and the requestor is unfamiliar (which is often the case) aren’t they inclined to give their password anyway, so that they can install their new fangled extension? (like a cool trackpad scrolling tool or some such)
This is really not an argument against trojans. Spyware, yes. Trojans no.
“Most people would just blindly give their password in order to get a certain piece of software to install…”
If someone opens the door for strangers, they deserve what happens. (FWIW, I don’t see why anything besides a system update needs admin access in the first place).
Mac OS X is secure, but it isn’t stupid-proof. There should be a book “Mac OS X Security for Dummies”. Better yet, Apple should bundle a manual or PDF covering basic security (if they don’t already).
68,736…68.737…68,738…you get the idea. Counting Windows viruses is like watching the score on a pinball machine.
So HOW MUCH LONGER can the press keep harping on the miniscule ‘marketshare’ when CLEARLY the numbers need to be moved up?
Where exactly? I don’t know, but it sure ain’t 2%.
Apple or someone needs to do a serious study of ‘marketshare’ and ‘installed base’ or whatever it takes to get the computer buying public even MORE of a comfort factor in buying Apple. And as encouragement to developers to invest time in the Mac platform.
Everything has POINTED to a larger base of users, but no one wanted to connect the dots.
More people will buy Mac if they don’t feel as if they are out in the wilderness.
dv
My anti-virus software for Winbloze is shaking in anger
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… but I’m too stupid to know that something better exists, so I’ll just live with it. Think of all the cool Wal-Mart crap I can buy if I save money by buying a Dell.
Note: This post is highly sarcastic.
your windows box sucks, arod is a windows user (i dont really know that)
All you viruses are belong to us!
Total market domination. We have the monopoly on viruses.
I’m not sure about all of the numbers that fly around, but I wrote a small piece of software to be used in a first year university class of about 1,000 biology students here in Australia. I wrote it on a Mac, of course, to work on the Safari and Firefox browsers. I did a quick survey in the first class to see how many students used either Firefox on a PC or Safari or Firefox on a Mac. Less than 1% of the students indicated that they use Macs and less than 2% indicated that they use Firefox. Firefox use among the students is now about 90%. The Mac numbers will be more difficult to influence.
These low numbers are probably biased by reluctance of students to raise their hands, but the numbers certainly did not look like 14%
68,000 viruses, eh?
So where´d they all go?
I never got any on my peecee?
Kind of like saying that in the history of mankind there have been 1 gazillion strains of flu…
snerkly,
You think you are having trouble catching one, try using a Mac. There isn’t a single virus out in the wild for OS X.
I sit here with no firewall or anti virus software, using OS X, with a broadband connection, and I wait, and I wait, and I wait, and I wait.
My Mac has been on, 24/7, for about 6 months without a reboot and I wait, and I wait, and I wait, and I wait.
Try doing that with your peesee, you’ll find most of those 68,000 viruses.
The U.S. has around 15,000 murders a year by people using guns, Germany about 20 (I don´t have the exact number – Japan, Britain about the same low number)….
are you all going to move to Germany for fear of being murdered by a gun in the U.S.????
I doubt it. Same thing with PC owners moving to a Mac because of a virus. (Own mac and peecees – viruses never effected us here – other than I had to purchase virus software for peecee.)
Wheezo sez:
“The U.S. has around 15,000 murders a year by people using guns, Germany about 20 (I don´t have the exact number – Japan, Britain about the same low number)….
are you all going to move to Germany for fear of being murdered by a gun in the U.S.????”
No, because you don’t get just ‘a little dead’. And death is final and unchangeable. No one really believes that they will be a victim of gunshot death, but once it happens it can’t be rectified. Unlike viruses which happen over a period of time, and can nudge you into taking different steps. Like buying a Macintosh.
DV
“68,736 Microsoft Windows viruses vs. zero for Apple Mac’s OS X”
2 Billion PC’s without security through obscurity VS. 25 Million Macs with security through obscurity. Do the math.
And dont give me the “apple’s security through obscurity is a myth” BS either. Apple has had MORE Security issues this year than MS has.
And, As it says on all apple security updates:
“For the protection of our customers, Apple does not disclose, discuss or confirm security issues until a full investigation has occurred and any necessary patches or releases are available.”
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61798
Oh yeah, And unless your just a complete moron, and you dont “read before you click” then you deserve a virus.
MW “Anti” as in Anti-Virus isn’t needed unless your a complete dumbass.
Oh and AL, comon with the no reboot in six months..thats BS..My Brand New G5 was up for about 3 weeks before I had to reboot it..Dont you do updates too?(they require a reboot)
Either
a) you dont really *use* your mac but just surf and check email.
b) you really do wait and wait and wait 5 months before you use it..
Are you a fisherman?
Hey Wheezo!
If you lived in a neighbourhood with a high murder rate and you could afford to get out you sure as hell would.
You can afford to switch to a Mac. Their TCO over the life of the machine plus the cost of the productivity software needed is lower than just the TCO of a PC of equivalent power and usefulness.