[X4U] Re: Malware (Was: Consumer Reports)

[Zane H. Healy]

Randy B. Singer wrote:
> Which brings up an interesting topic.  Mac users often wonder why Apple 
> doesn't play up the "no viruses" angle in its advertising.  Some folks 
> speculate that it is because that might draw more attention to the Mac 
> from virus writers.

I'm inclined to go with this theory.  Having finished reading the thread you
pointed me to, and seeing an article on this very subject on Slashdot just 
after reading that thread (watch out for line wrapping)
http://zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Mac_community_must_wake_up_to_security/0,2000061744,39210762,00.htm
I'm inclined to be a bit more paranoid, obviously there have been problems
over the past 7-8 years that I've been totally unware of.  Maybe it is time
I invest in some anti-virus software for my Mac...

> However, I've done some speaking recently for Apple at tech shows, and 
> I've found that the "no viruses" angle doesn't actually motivate a lot of 
> Windows users to want to switch.  Geeky Windows users don't really 
> consider viruses to be a big problem.  They just keep their computers 
> updated with the latest anti-viral software and patches and they are 
> pretty safe.
> 
> Unsophistocated users of Windows are afraid of viruses, but I suspect 
> that they would be afraid of switching to a whole new computer even more.

Things like this just amaze me, and don't doubt it in the least, especially
after the subject of viruses came up a few weeks ago when talking to a kid
we hired recently.  He doesn't even run anti-virus software on windows, he
just reloads his system every couple weeks (that totally boggles my mind).

As I stated in a thread here recently, one of my primary considerations in a
platform is security.  Data kept on a computer that is susceptable to
viruses isn't safe.  Furthermore, I don't have time to deal with fighting
the problem.  That's one of the main reasons I still use a Mac.  The other
being applications availability and my investment in applications.  Of
course I also feel Mac OS X tends to be more secure that some "secure"
alternatives such as Linux, but that it isn't secure enough.

		Zane