Everyone knows that the reason Macs don't viruses, adware and spyware is because Macs aren't used by enough people (or institutions) to make it worthwhile. It has nothing to do with their operating system "natural superiority." Steve Jobs can take that argument and stick it up his ass.

I especially love the way the PC is a droopy older guy while the Mac is young and cool. Whereas anyone who knows anything about the user base knows it's just the opposite - the only people who use Macs are advertising types too dumb to understand file extensions, soccer moms looking to download recipes on that "internet" thing, and old ladies (of both sexes) who don't play games.

Rob got it in one - the reason there are no viruses on the Mac is that no one cares enough to attack the tiny percentage of people who use Macs. Well, that, and the people who use Macs aren't smart enough to create viruses.

I may not agree with the content, but I love the execution. And it actually does play well in Japan.

~AS~

Sorry to step into the Mac/PC pissing war...

But as a long-term user of both, I want to get this: is the general gist here then only the kick-ass computers/the smart people get spyware & viruses as a badge of honor?

And this is bitchin' because...?

Just said it was a piece of bullshit propaganda that Apple has been peddling for years.

Here's more of their stuff. Very, very funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8c2fMDatoU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4V_K4eEmbQ

Rob Anderson: "Everyone knows that the reason Macs don't viruses, adware and spyware is because Macs aren't used by enough people (or institutions) to make it worthwhile."

Bullshit.

Although the history is more complex than this, the Mac operating system is based largely on Unix.

Unix systems run the majority of the world's websites, and important things like banks and major companies. Real computing, whatever they tell you in Redmond, ain't done on Windows.

Thus, anyone who wrote a truly infectious Unix virus would have a massive "hit" on their hands, as websites started dropping like flies. Wouldn't that make it "worthwhile,"

to use your word?

Oh, and Linux, another operating system based on Unix (you may have heard of it) is the number one choice for geeks of all stripes, including virus writers.

So why do "PCs" still get lots'a'viruses, and Unix/Mac/Linux systems get far, far fewer?

Because it's so easy to write viruses for the insecure broken mess that is Microsoft Windows, that literally anyone can do it.

Your "argument" is dud every which way, Rob. As usual.

Don't confuse him with the facts: this will just prompt a spittle-flecked rant about one-button mice and why video games are the sole defining hallmark of a "serious" computer.

Just so you guys are aware of part of Microsofts money making scheme. Each windows operating systems is programmed to have certain flaws, and security holes. This forces people to go and by the latest windows operating system which is always "more secure," and also forces people to by the latest software.

Anyways guys, so enjoy your pc's and excel documents, im goin to go finish my dope track on garageband and loop it with a stellar new track from Arcades new "neon bible."

ps: Jack Bauer and all of CTU uses a mac now. The debate is over.

mac vs. pc...

the dialogue of the deaf continues...

fuck 'em both, i use an abacus

Your non-sequitous response to my original posting is a web cliche. So the Mac OS is "based" on Unix, huh? I'll buy that...though it seems Sun was suing the wrong company a decade ago. But the "ubuiquity of Unix" dodge when confronting the fundamental truth of hacking PCs vs. Macs - that PCs get hacked more often because they're more numerous - is one you can find deployed by every twit-troll in every thread that deals with this subject everywhere on the web.

What I meant by "worthwhile", you imbecile, should have been obvious but, for you, I'll repeat it in small, simple words: "Easier to steal money." As in credit card numbers, bank account numbers, stock account passwords, and so forth. Get it now? Goooood. Here's a cookie.

The only place I've seen a Unix box being used for anything other than testing and - yes, I know - operating servers and mainframes is Cadence Design Systems. That's it. No other company I've worked for even used Unix for their servers. It was Windows, Windows, Windows. On a more quotidian note, I have never seen anything but PCs in banks, grocery stores (I asked), even H & R Block (!). The ubuiquity of WINDOWS was finally admitted by none other than Steve Jobs in '97, and again more recently when Apple offered the Windows platform as part of the Mac OS.

In short, bite me.

First of all, Rob Anderson is clearly a dick. Now that that's out of the way...

The fact that Windows has a larger market share doesn't mean that Windows computers are better. People use Windows boxes because they're cheaper. That's how they spread. Also, Apple really didn't deal with the licensing/cloning issue properly in the 90s and it's way too late to do it now. Mostly, people use Windows because people use Windows. It begets more users. The Windows base in Enterprise is vast. And it is proprietary, and thus Microsoft has created a brilliant system that encourages people to stick with their system.

Mac OS X isn't "based largely on Unix", it runs ON Unix. It has a Unix core. It *is* a Unix operating system.

Which only means so much.

Windows *does* have a lot more security issues than Mac. It's not just market share that makes people write viruses for Windows. Macs are used by millions and millions of people. Virus writers would be glad to harvest Mac user identities and siphon money out of Mac users PayPal accounts.

Windows has usually been targeted through ActiveX and other low-level protocols that leaves the operating system open to attack through malicious code in websites, emails, and attachments. Up until fairly recently, the gatekeepers to protecting your system were open by default on Windows, and closed on the Mac. Windows Vista (and XP SP2 before that) are essentially security hole fixers.

Macs by design don't allow outside sources to control internal systems. Sure, anyone on any platform could download an application that will fuck up your system. But the standard method of spreading viruses has traditionally just worked a lot easier on Windows.

I use both, and have for many many years. There was a time (OS 9) when Windows was more powerful than Mac. Now, the only thing Windows is inherently better at is gaming. And intuitive ease of use and system stability is better on Mac OS X than Windows. There's a lot of personal opinion, and "what you're used to." But people who claim Macs are toys or are dumbed down are just fucking idiots. It's like saying a car with an automatic transmission, climate control and a navigation system is "dumber" than a stick shift.

(By the way, Macs have a long way to go before being perfect. They're not.)

End of rant.

--dak