Can Someone explain this for me

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arcman said:
Granted a password-permissioned filesystem isn't 100% sure to keep out all malicious software, there's only so much the OS can do to keep itself secure from a user that doesn't know any better. But seeing as how OSX and the various Linux and BSD variants have something like less than 100 viruses among them versus the hundreds of thousands of viruses for win32, it seems to be an effective strategy. Even if you get an infected file, there are safeguards that the virus has to overcome to be able to do any more harm than simply delete the /home directory. Whereas in Windows where the default user is always the root administrator, all you have to do is point your web browser to an infected activex site and your system is as good as compromised. I'm not quite sure what this means, I'm afraid. OSX's core is based on BSD (Darwin to be exact), if that helps any.

Just raises my curiosity ... I am fairly new to mac and have yet to scratch the surface but I appreciate your insight
 
The General said:
Only proof-of-concept viruses which are totally useless and 0% of Mac users ever get effected. Apple fixes the problems immediately when they show up (which is rare).

When someone writes a virus, it is not for the computer, it is for Windows. The virus only works in Windows, just like how a computer program for Windows won't work on a Mac.

do you have an example of these "concept viruses"

I realize its for the OS but it seems almost arrogant that Mac would claim that they arent prone to those problems ...almost an invitation

then again Mac has stopped airing the commercials with Mac vs Pc for that very reason ... apparently people like PC more ...but thats probably old news around here ..
 
c7015 said:
I realize its for the OS but it seems almost arrogant that Mac would claim that they arent prone to those problems ...almost an invitation

Yes it is kind of arrogant because it's not like they are immune to them, it's just that people write viruses to spread and cause the biggest impact. Of course Windows has the greater marketshare, so they are the target. If the market ever has a 50/50 split, I'm sure you will see Mac's with viruses.

But Mac's still have a higher level of security. Sometimes people with little computer knowledge can know just enough to be dangerous in Windows. They make a change or delete a file they think is safe to delete, and BAM! Their computer doesnt boot anymore. Mac hides all the critical OS files and makes it very hard to find and delete them unless you are logged in as root. I'm not saying you cant mess up the OS, but your average computer user that is tinkering around can mess up a Windows PC much easier than a Mac.
 
Proof of concept: http://antivirus.about.com/b/a/257743.htm

As has been said, OSX won't be completely immune to virus/malware programs, as no OS is, but they will pretty much always be able to claim that OSX will never suffer from the security issues that Windows does. OSX's core is just inherently more secure.
 
ahh so they are allready on top of Virus software ... there goes my evil genius plan to create and epidemic and then in the midst of crisis sell the cure ... lol
 
Heh, Norton beat you to the punch, only instead of actually creating viruses they're using fear tactics and hype.
 
arcman said:
Heh, Norton beat you to the punch, only instead of actually creating viruses they're using fear tactics and hype.

LOL :) ... and can you believe people actually pay for software that does nothing but consume ram and system resources?
 
technogab said:
Sometimes people with little computer knowledge can know just enough to be dangerous in Windows. They make a change or delete a file they think is safe to delete, and BAM! Their computer doesnt boot anymore. Mac hides all the critical OS files and makes it very hard to find and delete them unless you are logged in as root. I'm not saying you cant mess up the OS, but your average computer user that is tinkering around can mess up a Windows PC much easier than a Mac.

Windows hides all of its critical system files as well unless you tell it not to.
 
kfc469 said:
Windows hides all of its critical system files as well unless you tell it not to.

Yes, but it's so easy to unhide them. When you go to explore a folder that has hidden directories, a window comes up asking if you would like to unhide them.

Anybody can easily override it just by clicking on the link to unhide them. That's not too secure.
 
c7015 said:
what is it about a Mac that makes them imune to this?
Magic Pixie Dust that falls out of Steve Jobs's a$$.



heh, seriously now...
It is because of the almighty power of UNIX and also the fact that Apple knows what 'customer service' is. Apple actually LOOKS for holes in its operating system and fixes them rather than waiting until 50 bajillion people are crying because a virus wiped out their computer and then sending out a magical fix called service pack 2 that just says you're 'protected' like Microsoft does.

I could go on forever saying how Mac is better blah blah blah, windows sucks blah blah blah, but I'll spare you the details and give you the short answer.

OS X works for you.
Windows works for Microsoft.
;)
 
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