winmacman Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 Is OSX really safer than Windows? Some people claims that OSX will never get any virus.... eventually it is safer than Windows............? Is that ture? Does anyone has any experience about strange stuff on your Mac/X86 Mac OS? And can anyone talk about the different between PC and Intel-MAC on hardware?(except the beautiful white case) Thank you Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
declan Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 OS X does have virus, just less than windows, alot less, and recently Apple was shown just how vulnerable OS X is, windows has always been the biggest seller, so for me thats the main reason it gets lots of attacks, though vulnerable, MS to give them their dues, does spend a lot of time on security. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-91730 Share on other sites More sharing options...
rohde Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 I would say that design wise OS X is safer than Windows XP, but Vista is just as safe, if not more safe than OS X (again design wise). But the design is only one side of the coin - the other being market share. And since Windows' market share is gargantuan not only compared to OS X, but all other OSs Windows might seem less secure. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-91731 Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyliner34 Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 I say all OS'es are un safe. Its just because Windows is the most popular that it gets shown up as being not that secure. Once OSX will become really popular it will have the same problem. Although Apple will release a security update as fast as possible, unlike Microsoft. But for now I think OS X is the safer. Except for some distros of Linux. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-91767 Share on other sites More sharing options...
kontroversy Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 Your OS is as safe as you make it IMO. Ive been running windows my whole life and it you keep your OS up to date and use quakity AV and spyware you should be ok. But that software is just one side of the picture, you really need a secure network to top things off. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-91779 Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyliner34 Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 Yeah, quite right Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-91783 Share on other sites More sharing options...
treleung Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 Ive been running windows my whole life and it you keep your OS up to date and use quakity AV and spyware you should be ok. As have I, yet the longest I've ever had Windows without having to reinstall is about 8 months. I always keep uptodate with windows updates, firewall, av, and anti-spyware, yet somehow something always goes wrong. I look forward to seeing how long this mac installation will survive Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-92080 Share on other sites More sharing options...
declan Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 Well when my ibook was running, i never reinstalled in 2 years, and my imac similar, and would leave running for months between switch off. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-92083 Share on other sites More sharing options...
starflyer Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 OS X does have virus Really? I have never heard of one. Show me a link. and recently Apple was shown just how vulnerable OS X is The one where the person had an ADMIN ACCOUNT on the box? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-92234 Share on other sites More sharing options...
declan Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 google works wonders. http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/art...macosxleap.html Don't get me wrong os x is rock solid and i love it but its not invulnerable. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-92392 Share on other sites More sharing options...
inmotion Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 yea, OSX does have its share of viruses... but like others have said ... A LOT less... mainly due to the fact that viruses are used to target as many people as possible and right now windows holds that title... in anycase, coding a virus for mac wouldnt be too fun i believe since its running on UNIX which is very very stable. and just like kontroversy said... its all about how u use your computer... if u download anything you find on P2Ps then you're just making your computer a open target... but i would also like to add that although i am various cautious when using my computers i had my share of problems with Xp (spywares) must mostly just the OS itself rotting away and becoming unstable (which in the end requires a reinstall) anyhow, those are my thoughts. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-92846 Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluedragon1971 Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 google works wonders. http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/art...macosxleap.html Don't get me wrong os x is rock solid and i love it but its not invulnerable. While that virus may have been created in some lab, there is not a single reported instance of it actually being in the wild. That goes for pretty much any other report of a virus on OS X. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-92964 Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1acksab3r Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 I agree that all OSes are vulnerable. However, MS can do a lot better job with their design of their software. But as software becomes more complicated the harder it is to keep secure. I've been a Windows user since version 3.1 and I totally agree with kontroversy. In fact, I have a workstation that is running Windows 3.1 and never had to do a reinstall. Still running strong to this very day. Anyways, just my 2 cents. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-93022 Share on other sites More sharing options...
chick Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 I don't know what a "safe" OS is. What i can say is that most people run their Windows with administrator rights. This means that everything they run can damage system files. By default with OSX you run the system as a normal user. You just control your own storage space and everytime you want to take the full control of the system the root password is required. I think a virus has a more limited impact on OSX. Under Windows it can crash the whole system and even have access to low level IO ... I don't know if i'm very clear, it's hard to write in english By the way, how do you do to keep your Windows stable ? I mean, i have to reinstall the whole stuff at least once a year. Fragmentation, corrupt registry, crashing drivers, freezes, ... I love windows Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-93133 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_Beans Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Windows VS OSX or is it really Dumb user VS Smart user. Use common sence and check everything before you open or run it, and you will be safe under any OS. It all depends on the user. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-93185 Share on other sites More sharing options...
chick Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Windows VS OSX or is it really Dumb user VS Smart user. Use common sence and check everything before you open or run it, and you will be safe under any OS. It all depends on the user. I don't think you can sum it up like this. For us, when we run Windows, it's obvious not to open .bat, .exe, .scr, .com files attached to a mail. But not everyone is supposed to know which files are potentially dangerous. (Just an example). If the average user is a dumb user, there are a lot of dumbs on earth. It's the OS' job to warn the users when there's a security risk. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-93243 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_Beans Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 I don't think you can sum it up like this. For us, when we run Windows, it's obvious not to open .bat, .exe, .scr, .com files attached to a mail. But not everyone is supposed to know which files are potentially dangerous. (Just an example). If the average user is a dumb user, there are a lot of dumbs on earth. It's the OS' job to warn the users when there's a security risk. I can see where you are coming from, but the exploit that OS X had is not a virus, OS X should of promoted the user for the admin password to do things that this exploit needed to do. If the user was curious or dumb enough to put it in, that is their fault. There are tons of security risks but why should we rely on the OS to tell a user about all of them? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/14367-is-osx-really-safer-than-windows/#findComment-93292 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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