Mac users make me chuckle

Mac users are a snobby bunch – especially when it comes to security. It’s not that their sense of security isn’t well found given its niche user base in years gone past. However that will change as more and more of the Windows horde begin to experiment with the dark side (as we call it).

The saving grace for both Mac and Linux has been twofold with the first being it was never a real marketplace target for virus writers who want as much bang for their buck as they can get. The second is that due to the nature of its Unix base it requires a lot more savvy and social engineering skills to infect Mac’s than the majority of virus writers are willing to invest.

But I always get a kick out of reading posts like the one I read today from Chris Pirillo where he dived into his FriendFeed fanbase to find out their thoughts on things like their favourite antivirus, spyware and malware tools (ya gotta admit it’s an easy way to come up with a post at the drop of a hat as well). It is no surprise that within the first few reply to his question out comes the Mac fandom proclaiming that using the Mac was the best security solution. Out of the 23 replies 4 touted the Mac as the best defense, 5 gave their Windows line of defense and the rest was pretty well the usual bickering that will always happen (and get your question/post a lot of attention) when a subject like this comes up.

As much as a chuckle as I might get from watching this type of expected conversation the reality is that Mac users can rest easy if they want in the belief that they are invulnerable to the same type of attacks that have plagued Windows users but that will change. The further the Mac moves away from its niche market and into the general computing populace the higher its profile will become in the marketplace and at that point you will see things change. The higher the profile the more of a target it will become for the serious virus and trojan writers and they don’t screw around like the script kiddies.

In the meantime I’ll just keep looking for these types of conversations when I need a good laugh to brighten up my day.