So with a mac, you cant get any viruses?

[ShadowFold]

Like if I went to 100+ sites that are malware certafied I would be ok?

[thoughtdisorder]

Originally Posted by ShadowFold

Like if I went to 100+ sites that are malware certafied I would be ok?

Thanks for starting this thread Shadow! This shall be most enjoyable to watch unfold!

[ShadowFold]

Im just wondering cause I might get a mac laptop for collage

[Darknova]

Originally Posted by ShadowFold

Im just wondering cause I might get a mac laptop for collage

LOL no. You'd just be less likely to get one as there are much less viruses designed to target macs than PCs.

But remember, macs AREN'T immune to viruses.

[ShadowFold]

Originally Posted by Darknova

LOL no. You'd just be less likely to get one as there are much less viruses designed to target macs than PCs.

But remember, macs AREN'T immune to viruses.

I thought that thats why people liked them the most they were immune to viruses.. do they not catch them as much or somthing?

[Darknova]

Originally Posted by ShadowFold

I thought that thats why people liked them the most they were immune to viruses.. do they not catch them as much or somthing?

Yet another lie from the gay sheep (I do not mean all mac users, just the ones that keep bringing up the same old tired, irrelevant arguements like "it just works").

Macs are not immune. Remember that a mac uses an entirely different OS so the viruses have to be written specifically to target a mac. So when mac was a smaller part of the market no one really targetted them because there was hardly ever any important stuff kept on macs. So originally yes, but only because there were no viruses written for macs, not because it was more secure.

So just remember that. OSX isn't more secure...it's just got less threats against it than Windows does

[francis511]

I read that there didn`t used to be any (likewise linux) , but in the last few years quite a few have emerged. I think it was like 30 or so for mac , 5 or 6 for linux... unless it was the other way round.

[joinmeindeath417]

it actualyl depends what your doing in collage with it.

film editing -mac

photo editing-eh either will work macs are a little quicker

gaming-pc (unless you get a macbook pro) than you can do some medicore gaming

porn sites and malware sites- probably mac cause its less targeted with those viruses/malware/spyware. but you can still get it it just lowers the risk

[a111087]

if you got 64-bit XP you will notice that it is much safer too

[erocker]

There is nothing superior about Macs in any way whatsoever. Hardware wise they are quite inferior. Yes there are plenty of viruses out there that can harm Macs. Good!

[mrw1986]

Also, there was just a report out somewhere that Mac had X amount more vulnerabilities than Vista did...and Macs suck, plain and simple. Spend a ridiculous amount of money for extremely dated hardware. No thanks. Oh and did I mention software compatibility?

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=758
http://www.macworld.com/article/5761...4/daizovi.html

Have fun reading that Mac fanboys!

[Ravenas]

I didn't want to get involved in this thread because this forum is getting known for flame wars but...I have virus software for my mac. I've been to countless "shady" sites and I've never gotten a virus. Just my experience.

[FatForester]

An OS is only as secure as you are. If you're careless, it doesn't matter what operating system you're on, chances are something will happen. I have AVG on both my Vista and XP systems and have never had any problems.

[erocker]

There's nothing to flame just facts:
Macs:
Looks awesome (asthetically pleasing)
Runs certain software designed for OSX a lot better than it's PC counterparts
Uses dated hardware
Made for people too smart to get a Dell, and too ignorant to build thier own
User friendly
Expensive
Now, with free Viruses!!!

This is just a short list. I'll have to admit, I just picked up a Macbook Pro with a burnt LCD for $300 bucks Apple is currently replacing the LCD for $200. So that's $500 bucks for a 5 month old Macbook Pro. Not bad, but paying the $1600 for this thing five months ago is laughable.

[keakar]

now that macs are "pc friendly" some are using pc software, some macs are even running windows so it depends, even the kind of browser you use may effect how vulnerable you are.

many of the latest viruses are made to attack any system reguardless of the type being used because some of the worst kind of viruses are after the information period, they dont care about hurting microsoft.

[King Wookie]

Originally Posted by erocker

There is nothing superior about Macs in any way whatsoever. Hardware wise they are quite inferior. Yes there are plenty of viruses out there that can harm Macs. Good!

How about some objective arguments please.

1) Macs are not immune to viruses, just have a much lower chance of being infected.
I am no expert, but the general gist is that they have a much newer kernel, based on unix, that is harder to crack. There must be a reason as to why the U.S. Defense dept., F.B.I, and N.S.A. use them for their internet servers.

As Macs are nowhere as prevalent as Windows based machines, they have been less juicy targets. Between myself and a fair group of others, we have been using macs for years with no anti virus.Probably not clever, but none of us have as yet run foul of a virus.

2) Hardware wise they are inferior? The fastest Intel Xeon chips are currently found in Mac pros. What they don't do is build gaming machines, hence the slower video cards. I won't try and justify the air. That's just a yuppy toy.

Bottom line, I have a Windows machine for gaming and messing around with. I have a mac for work. Different horses for different courses.

[Graogrim]

I was going to quip something about how one of the eight Mac users out there once thought he saw a virus, but someone made the point a little more seriously already.

Malware designers evidently think in terms of cost/benefit just like everyone else. Windows has an orders of magnitude greater installed base and so makes a more "profitable" target.

That said, there are apparently some exploits out there. So even if you own a Mac, it pays to undertake commonsense precautions.

[EnglishLion]

Macs aren't immune, but are far less likely to be attacked. That said, I've never had a virus on my PC, one of my friends this week thought he had a virus on his PC (it was constantly repeating any key press and beeping), I told him it was a broken keyboard - which it was

If you practise sensible surfing and don't open those emails we all get, then you'll be fine with any platform - base your choice on other more important factors, like get a mac for the street cred or get a PC for gaming.

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by erocker

There is nothing superior about Macs in any way whatsoever. Hardware wise they are quite inferior. Yes there are plenty of viruses out there that can harm Macs. Good!

The only Mac viruses found so far have been "proof of concept". Nothing has been exploited in the wild yet. (That's not to say it isn't just around the corner. lol)

Hardware wise they use the same components used in PCs. In fact, in the Mac Pro, the hardware is superior to most people's PCs, due to the fact that it uses S771 server hardware. In the Air for example, it uses a cpu that hasn't even been released to the public yet, and that no other computer uses at this time. It's part of a future product line.

No offense erocker, but it's clear you know little to nothing about Macs.

I said it in the other current Mac thread, and I'll say it here again, the anti-mac guys are just as bad as the mac fanboys.

[Rob!]

Originally Posted by Wile E

Hardware wise they use the same components used in PCs. In fact, in the Mac Pro, the hardware is superior to most people's PCs, due to the fact that it uses S771 server hardware. In the Air for example, it uses a cpu that hasn't even been released to the public yet, and that no other computer uses at this time. It's part of a future product line.

That's not the first time they got a deal from Intel, either. When they released the first octo-core Mac Pro, they used Xeon chips that had not been used yet. And the 2.8GHz C2D Extreme CPU in the 24" iMac was used a few months before it was released to other OEMs.


I've been using Mac exclusively (except for games) for almost two years now, and have never encountered a virus or spyware. Even on PCs when I do use them, and for the countless years before I switched to Mac, I encountered maybe two viruses and a lot of spyware, but spyware was easily removed. I run an anti-virus in Windows regardless, but I still don't feel threatened using either OS because I'm smart about browsing.

[Graogrim]

but I still don't feel threatened using either OS because I'm smart about browsing.

QFE.

[Water Drop]

What's a Mac?

[zatblast]

Guide to Virus proofing any electronic device:
step 1: Make sure machine boots up, and is plugged into everything it should be (battery/power/ethernet/ect)
step 2: unplug the battery and power cords
step 3: enjoy your virus proofed machine
step 4: go crazy
step 5: plug back in at your OWN risk
step 6: request "How to remove ****"
step 7: reformat
step 8: repeat step 2

[asb2106]

Originally Posted by zatblast

Guide to Virus proofing any electronic device:
step 1: Make sure machine boots up, and is plugged into everything it should be (battery/power/ethernet/ect)
step 2: unplug the battery and power cords
step 3: enjoy your virus proofed machine
step 4: go crazy
step 5: plug back in at your OWN risk
step 6: request "How to remove ****"
step 7: reformat
step 8: repeat step 2

nice,I like that guide. Its a fool proof method!!

[erocker]

Originally Posted by ShadowFold

Im just wondering cause I might get a mac laptop for collage

Perhaps you should learn to spell COLLEGE first, before you go.

Originally Posted by King Wookie

How about some objective arguments please.

Perhaps you should read the whole thread?!