Why are we not doing this???

[Gez]

The great tragedy of the Apple Macintosh platform is that it survived when the Commodore Amiga, Atari ST/Falcon, and Amstrad CPC all died.

[Graf Zahl]

The great tragedy of the Apple Macintosh platform is that it survived when the Commodore Amiga, Atari ST/Falcon, and Amstrad CPC all died.

Yeah, whatever!

I can see that people miss the Amiga - which was far ahead of its time, but I once owned both an Atari ST and a CPC and let's make it clear: I never missed them one bit, I have better memories of my old C64.

So, about MacOSX, I do not understand the appeal. I have been using it because I develop iOS software, but as a whole there's not such a great difference to Windows in usability that justifies the high price, and my main issue has always been that the software I normally use to make a computer feel comfortable is just not available. This alone makes it a major turn-off.

What I find most hilarious is the mistaken sense of security many Mac users revel in (Malware - that only exists on Windows!) and don't see any need to install Antivirus or other protection software. So this group of fools is probably a prime target of the malware industry, and they most likely don't even notice when they actually do get infected.
But if someone brings up that topic it's 'Nah, MacOS is UNIX based so it's secure by default.'
Complete denial that they may be at risk...

[MetroidJunkie]

If that's their reasoning then why don't they just get a Linux OS, instead? They have a little bit of a learning curve but, in my experience, Ubuntu is pretty easy to figure out and they're completely free on top of it. It's kind of funny how you can pretty easily get the Mac OS to run on a PC with a hacked version that does away with Apple's security measures (Because Apple's got a control complex and don't want their software to run on the system most people actually use), albeit a bit buggy since it wasn't designed to run on a wide variety of hardware configurations like Windows is.

[Rachael]

Both UNIX and Linux are just as exploitable to malware as Windows is. It's more what Graf said - the false sense of security comes from the relatively low percentage of total computer users who use it. Why take the time to learn those systems, when it's far easier to target Windows users, and the API is already widely known?

People come into computers with such a naivety that it's no surprise they fall for those dreaded "traps" - they need all the help they can get, and they're willing to accept it from all the wrong places because they don't know better. And then their identity and credit cards get stolen, their computer might as well be a brick until they take it to a competent tech who can fix it, and it becomes a nightmare for them after that.

Such as it is, those people happen to use Windows the most frequently - so that's where the malware goes. If you're a thief, your biggest profit margin is off the biggest group of users that you can scam and make a quick buck from.

If everyone used a Mac, the malware would be there, instead, and it would be just as serious.

Let's pretend Microsoft made such a blunder with Windows that everyone stopped using it, and everyone switched to Ubuntu instead. The exact same thing would happen - and *all* Linux developers (not just Ubuntu) would be working overtime and double shifts trying to plug all the holes.

[Graf Zahl]

All true, but I believe that Mac malware has become quite attractive, because most Mac users tend to have more money and they are so ignorant about security.
They are a nice and easy target, but the malware creators also know that they have to be careful to avoid detection, so whatever happens here will be far less aggressive than the type of malware directed at the unknowledgeable Windows user.

But as it stands the common thinking of Windows being a security hole because Microsoft is incompetent is just horseshit by idiots trying to push an agenda.

Fun fact: I haven't been infected for many, many years. My brother catches a virus every month or so...

[Rachael]

I agree. In fact, a lot of Apple ads poke fun at Windows users not being able to stay away from malware, so the implication goes, just by the advertising, that if you do get a mac, you can't get malware. This couldn't be further from the truth. If anything by and large, Windows has over the years actually started becoming more secure than its competitors simply by being such a big target; Microsoft has actually had to take initiatives to mitigate the threat and they do so with their own anti-malware program (Windows Defender) as well as releasing a monthly update designed specifically to stamp out malware that has gone hogwild (Malicious Software Removal Tool). The bad publicity that Microsoft has received for Windows due to all the malware designed for it has been, at the very least, embarrassing for them, so it is no surprise that they are stepping in, even if only somewhat minimally, to try and get remove of the viruses out from the wild, and they actually work with anti-virus companies to try and design Windows to work better with their security programs.

Like its competitors, Windows requires administrative permissions to perform certain high-level tasks. Like its competitors, Windows will prompt for a password before initiating such tasks (but only if you initiate from a non-Admin account, which you honestly should do anyway, particularly for internet browsing).

In Linux, they usually try to insist that you create a user (NON-admin) account for everyday tasks, and keep the root password hidden away to keep higher level operating components of your computer safe and secure until you need to install drivers and kernel modules to expand or upgrade the system software. Both Mac and Windows support this, though, and it's something that should be done on all operating systems, not just Linux.

[MetroidJunkie]

One thing I found hilarious was when the Mac vs PC commercials mocked Windows as being all virus ridden, and then they brag that Boot Camp can run Windows. Haha, look at that virus infested thing over there. Good news, Macs can now run that thing that we were calling virus ridden. Interesting how the mockery ads also pretty much died down with Windows 7, probably because Microsoft learned from Vista and actually made 7 good.

[Enjay]

Possibly also because the ads were misfiring a bit and people were starting to parody the smug self-congratulating Mac-guy to the detriment of Mac and its users.