[X4U] Consumer Reports

[Linda]

This isn't necessarily CR's fault... Note that they are simply passing along
what computer owners themselves have reported.

We don't know how many total respondents there were -- 20% of Mac owners
surveyed might be only 2 of 10, and those two could be remembering a Word
Macro virus, for all we know.

Further, this can't be construed that viruses affect 20% of Macs! Note "of
Mac owners surveyed" -- CR does not do a random owner survey, the surveys
are by and large of CRs own subscription base, which isn't a true
cross-section of society.

So.. don't be too harsh on CR, but it would be nice to see them print the
"facts" in addition to the horse hockey that people report.

peace,
Linda

On 9/7/05 2:14 PM, James S Jones wrote:

> Not only are there no viruses, it's unlikely 20% of Mac users even have
> anti-virus software.
> 
> We should all consider ourselves blessed. We've been given unique
> insight as to how inaccurate and useless Consumer Reports actually is.
> 
> On Sep 7, 2005, at 11:07 AM, Michel Treisman wrote:
> 
>> According to Consumer Reports for 2005,
>> 
>> Macs are safer than Windows PCs for some online hazards. Only 20
>> percent of Mac owners surveyed reported detecting a virus in the past
>> two years, compared with 66 percent of Windows PC owners. Just 8
>> percent of Mac users reported a spyware infection in the last six
>> months vs. 54 percent of Windows PC users.
>> 
>> What are these viruses that affect 20% of Macs?  I thought there
>> weren't any.