[X Newbies] Apple and all of these viruses?

[Steven Rogers]

On Saturday, August 23, 2003, at 03:45 AM, Eugene Lee wrote:

> : Thank you for the interesting citation. But have a look at:
> :
> : http://www.bynkii.com/generic_mac_stuff/archives/000091.html
>
> There are number of hurdles in OS X that make life much more difficult 
> for virus writers.

That article focuses on the ability to *write* a virus for the Mac. Of 
course, you can write a virus for any computer. The thing that makes it 
likely to get a virus (and attractive for the writers) is how the virus 
is spread. Windows is better at that because the OS is guided by two 
contradictory philosophies: a) make an open platform for applications 
in a secure business LAN and b) make a secure platform for home use on 
the internet. Unixes are written with security concepts integrated from 
the ground up, while Windows is torn between security and providing 
features that enable programs like Outlook and Exchange Server.

PC users will also point out that PCs can be *made* secure, its just 
that the users don't update or configure them correctly. This is true, 
but you have to remember that its not just Aunt Molly the PC Newbie who 
gets PC viruses - business users get them, corporate IT departments get 
them, ISPs get them. You don't have to be a professional to see that 
its much more difficult to secure a PC than a Unix box. This also comes 
from the same root issue that the PC is driven by two contradictory 
design philosophies. A long legacy of creating incremental capabilities 
and security features has made Windows administration essentially 
anti-conceptual.  Its not that Unix is simple to administer and Windows 
is complex - both operating systems are very complex. But unix is 
conceptually unified and Windows is not.

Having a unified consistent design philosophy and an a consistent 
environment has always been important for Unix and Apple, while the PC 
has focused on getting things done. While Microsoft is responsible in 
some ways for the virus phenomenon, you also have to remember that the 
cheap products that Microsoft makes are what made the computer 
revolution possible. Those products are what put a computer on every 
desktop. IBM could not have made a success of the PC, and Mac and Unix 
systems wouldn't be where they are today without Microsoft.

SR