Why Buy a Mac - Part IV

The hype surrounding Mac's and their apparent vulnerability to viruses or other malware is legendary. But is it deserved? To a certain extent, yes.

As most Windows lovers will point out, Windows is everywhere, OS x - not so much. And if someone is going to take the time to write a virus to harm people, they're going to go where they can get the most bang for their buck. And there is a lot of truth to that statement. But Macs are gaining in popularity and so are they more targeted now than yesterday. In short, yes. But the longer answer is more complicated.

I pretty much stay away from sites that I know will infect my computer. But, most viruses are distributed from email or sites that are more innocuous. I'd never ever consider running a Windows-based computer for very long on the Internet. My son still hasn't installed any AV software on his Mac and he's been using it for almost 5 years without incident. I ran for 6-8 months without issue, but I did finally succumb to the thought that I probably should have some kind of anti-malware product on my Mac.

Modern Macs at their core are based on UNIX, which is a more stable and virus resistant OS. There are only a few pieces of malware that target Macs and you usually have to do something really stupid to get infected, but it's still possible. And since Macs now run on Intel processors and many Mac users also run Windows either in a dual-boot configuration or as a virtual machine, it's possible that your Mac could harbor malware that could be spread to others. I've tried a variety of free and pay programs over the years. I started out with iAntivirus (www.pctools.com) which seemed to run OK, but occasionally it would seem to get a little heavy, So I moved on to something else. I tried MacScan (macscan.securemac.com), another nice program, but this one has no real time protection and the scans always seemed to take a really long time. What I am using now is a free product from Sophos (www.sophos.com). It has real-time protection as well as a scanner and it has found things on my Mac that it has identified as malware; although all of them have been malware targeted at Windows.

So, yes, I think that the Mac is a more virus resistant platform. but I'm also not stupid and I'd always recommend that you install some kind of anti-malware protection.

Bottom Line

So what is the bottom line for me? Let's review this series of articles. Mac hardware is second to none; period. This not only can be seen in the design, but in the functionality. Tech support, when you need it, is fantastic. And because Apple controls both the hardware and the OS, you don't spend time playing the finger pointing game between the OS vendor and the computer vendor. The OS is, in this man's opinion, way more intelligently designed and implemented. This can be seen from a user's standpoint, but even more so from an IT guy's perspective. The Mac is a more secure device out of the box. It's not invulnerable, but there are just not the headaches that come with Windows.

Is the Mac a perfect machine? Is tech support flawless? Does the OS never ever fail? No, of course not. The devices and the software are made by fallible people and put through their paces by even more fallible people. And there is the cost - Mac's cost more. Although when was the last time you saw Microsoft put out ANY version of Windows that you could install on all your computers for $30 - I'm betting never. But for that cost you get a "better" machine, better tech support, and a better overall experience.

Ultimately your choice of computer and OS will be based on many things; cost, need, app availability and other things. I can use my Mac for just about everything I need. I only need to got to Windows on my personal Mac about once a week because there is an app that I really like for which there is no really good Mac equivalent or if I want to play a game that is not made for the Mac. Other than that, I live in OS X and I'm loving it.