“I received a few e-mails over the weekend from readers who took issue with advice I recently gave to a Web chat participant who asked what he should do to help an elderly friend who was having PC trouble. The questioner said the woman knew nothing about computers and that her Windows machine was besieged with pop-up advertisements,” Brian Krebs writes for The Washington Post.
Krebs writes, “Here’s what I recommended: ‘Yes. You can spend many, many hours trying to diagnose the problem, or you can spend perhaps a bit less time backing up any documents and pictures she’d like to keep and then re-installing the operating system.'”
Krebs writes, “This post represents the fruit of much personal reflection on the topic. After reading this entire entry, I hope some readers may look at the appearance of problems on their Windows machines (security related or not) as an opportunity to start fresh and set up their computers to block most online threats.”
Krebs writes, “Some readers may become deeply discouraged, perhaps thinking, ‘If what I’m doing already isn’t enough, well then I can’t keep up with this anymore. The heck with Windows!’ I heartily encourage those readers — if they have the means — to listen to that sentiment and consider buying an Apple Macintosh computer. The annoying TV commercials aside, Macs are far simpler to maintain from a security perspective. Mac users still must apply patches from time to time (even that can be automated), but they still have little — if anything — to worry about from spyware, viruses or computer worms (at least for now).”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Whit” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s TV commercials for Macs are only “annoying” to those who haven’t figured out the obvious.
Related articles:
Security firm: 38-percent of malware already Windows Vista-compatible – January 22, 2007
Windows ‘Storm Worm’ rages across globe; Apple Macintosh unaffected – January 19, 2007
Apple touts virus-free Macs – August 25, 2006
Microsoft’s Windows is inherently more vulnerable to severe malware than Apple’s Mac OS X – August 23, 2006
Chicago Tribune falls for the ‘Security Via Obscurity’ myth – August 14, 2006
Symantec researcher: At this time, there are no file-infecting viruses that can infect Mac OS X – July 13, 2006
Gartner analyst tries to propagate discounted Mac OS X ‘security via obscurity’ myth via BBC – July 06, 2006
Apple: ‘Get a Mac. Say ‘Buh-Bye’ to viruses’ – June 01, 2006
Apple Macs are inherently safer and more secure than Microsoft Windows – November 22, 2005
BusinessWeek columnist propagates discounted ‘Apple Mac security via obscurity myth’ – September 06, 2005
16-percent of computer users are unaffected by viruses, malware because they use Apple Macs – June 15, 2005
USA Today calls iMac G5 ‘exquisite’ but implies Mac OS X more secure than Windows due to obscurity – September 30, 2004
Another columnist trots out Mac OS X ‘Security through Obscurity’ myth – April 03, 2004
Gates: Windows ‘by far the most secure’ system; tries to use ‘Mac OS X secure through obscurity’ myth – January 27, 2004
Q&A Columnist uses ‘security through obscurity’ myth to defend Windows vs. Mac on virus issue – October 04, 2003
Columnist tries the ‘security through obscurity’ myth to defend Windows vs. Macs on virus front – October 01, 2003
New York Times: Mac OS X ‘much more secure than Windows XP’ – September 18, 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
Virus and worm problems not just due to market share; Windows inherently insecure vs. Mac OS X – August 24, 2003
At least for now?
Already many years!
It’s a good message, but what about “they’re fun to use” and “they make your shit stink less?”
What’s a virus?
Spyware?
What annoying commercials?
When are reporters gonna start reporting THE TRUTH? The FACT that there are ZERO viruses for OS X?
For fscks sake, won’t at least one reporter grow a pair and tell it like it is.
Chicken shit pussies, go ahead, prove me wrong and report the truth, I dare you.
No, They are just plain annoying.
You can buy a Mac and free yourself from all the hassle of trying to secure your PC, or you can try inserting your fingers in every hole of the dike. But be warned:
“I’m sorry to report that the anti-virus companies are losing this war. I encourage all readers to spend a few minutes over at the real-time anti-virus performance statistics maintained by CastleCops’s Malware Incident Reporting and Termination Squad (MIRT). As soon as it receives a report of a new virus or worm infecting a machine, MIRT submits each to anti-virus amalgamation service VirusTotal, which scans each piece of malware against more than two dozen of the best known anti-virus engines out there. The results are usually pretty discouraging: Most of the anti-virus tools detect between 15-25 percent of all new submissions, while a handful will catch in the 35-50 percent range [my emphasis].
Best give up, eh?
Whoa, Jim! Woah!!
Looks like it’s time to switch to decaf!!
Lot’s of this going on. Switching is fashionable. No bugs, worms, dragons, etc. Mac is better, by far.
So,what’s causing the drop in market share for Apple, Inc.’s personal computer business?
Just wondering….
Ricochet Rabbit:
Hey dude, I’m 100% decaf. I just wish reporters would do what they’re paid to do.
I’m an Illustrator for a Marine Engineering company, it’d be like me walking up to my boss with a schematic diagram of a bunny rabbit and submitting it to a safety manual for reference in an emergency. Yeh, it’s a diagram, but it’s not the right one.
These reporters are reporting, but they’re not reporting the right information.
Not only are Apple ads annoying, they are useless and a waste of money. Come on Apple… I know you can do better than this.
I find the ads somewhat smug and annoying too.
Switching is the only smart thing to do, but those ads are annoying, I don’t care what MDN says.
> So,what’s causing the drop in market share for Apple, Inc.’s personal computer business?
Casually stating an error as a fact does not make it true. Apple’s U.S. market share for the December quarter (Apple’s fiscal 1Q 2007) was at 4.7%, up 1.1% from 3.6% in the year ago quarter. Additionally, in that quarter, Mac shipments were up about 30% compared to the year ago quarter. That is at least 3 to 4 times higher than the industry overall. Any way you look at it, Apple’s market share is going up significantly. With Windows Vista showing that it is still extremely susceptible to malware (and Leopard due for release in the next few months), it is likely that Apple’s market share will continue to rise at an accelerated pace.
MDN: Do you go out of your way to search for something that seems like a slight to Apple? In all fairness, save for a couple, those commercials are pretty annoying. They’re funny the first time, but it gets old.
Hey, I find the ads smug, and I love them. Makes me feel proud that after wanting to for years, I was finally able to switch a little more than a year ago.
smug is good when you are superior
Brian Krebs? Hey, has he written about the Mac before…?
If it’s just Grandma (not likely an advanced user with high level web needs), install FireFox and turn off Javascript and turn on the pop up blocker. Blocking 3rd party stuff in the security settings also would help. That will kill most of it unless the box is hopelessly infected.
A Mac would be better, but costs money. This costs nothing but a download and a little time.
This morning, someone mentioned the “Mac vs PC” ads in the company breakroom. Everyone started comparing the ads and talking about their favorite one. The consensus: the ads are funny.
The company is a Gold Microsoft Partner. Most of the employees are developers.
My very tech-savvy friends can’t keep their machines up and running and clean. Who thinks reinstalling Winblows on Grandma’s computer will help anything for more than a month or so?
(crickets)
@Simple Answer
Fine, who cares? Go to WinDailyNews and post this tidbit for the Dozer edification. Oh yeah, there is no WinDailyNews….
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BTW, I love the ads, they are warm MacFuzzies on a cold harsh Windoze day.
At work we use Windows 2000 Pro, and badly written in-house software, ouch! That’s the definition of mediocrity.
Have any of you read the comments at the bottom of the article? Very telling, since they come from real people and real experiences. As for the cost of getting a Mac to replace an old PC, if the PC is costing you just to keep it useable, perhaps its time to cut your losses and go for the Mac.
This is just his cycle.
Hmm….experts
Well I suggest everybody to get a Windows machine in order to avoid Macintosh malware.
Hmm….wait…