Anyone seen a Mac virus lately?

Stan Beer
Thursday, 19 October 2006 11:33

Opinion and Analysis

The recent opinion piece from Alex Zaharov-Reutt titled "Virus scare a lesson for Apple" sparked an outpouring of rage from our Mac-owner readers. Alex is a recognised technology reviewer - he's currently a Vista beta tester - and we don't censor opinions. However, many readers pointed out valid flaws in his argument.

The following is just a smattering of the milder ones:

"Firstly, this was a Windows virus that made it's way on to the offending iPods via an infected PC at a contractor's fab. This was not passed on via a Mac nor was it a Mac virus. The only thing this points out is the inherent vulnerability of PCs running the Windows OS... not the Mac."

"I think you have it wrong.  In fact, you’ve got it completely backward.  This isn’t a wake-up call for Mac OS X users, it’s a go-back-to-sleep message.  They could have shipped every iPod for a year with a virus, and Mac OS X users would be unaffected."

"Yes, we all know that as Mac sales increase, the platform becomes a bigger target, but so what? Being a larger target doesn't mean you're easier to hit. A modern fighter jet is much bigger than a WWII fighter, but its advanced technology makes it much harder to shoot."

"There are currently zero viruses out there for Macs, I have never needed anti-virus software on my Macs and I have been happily surfing the net for as log as that has been possible. Now don't get me wrong, I know they exist,  I've seen them in action on a Windows machine, the very same machines which allows me (and everyone else) to install anything on my machine without me having to enter a password, now that is security in action."

"Why was it necessary to play fortunate-teller when you say that malware is being developed for the Mac platform? Sure, that's probably true, but you say in such a way that suggests Apple doesn't do anything to protect users from that [possible] forthcoming threat. Incorrect. The proof is in the pudding. Mac users enjoy their computers day-in and day-out without the headaches that Windows users must be wary of. That's reality."