Anti Virus?

[Spooony]

Right.


All Mac users run "security" because OS X has built-in security, including malware prevention, malicious code execution prevention systems, selective privilege escalation and the software firewall. Just like Windows. I always tell new Mac users to enable the software firewall the first time they start their machines even if they're behind a hardware firewall and in no way am I "proud" of the fact that the software firewall is disabled by default.

Do most users need to run a resident anti-virus? No. For some it may be of benefit, as Terpfen explained earlier. For most, it is no less pointless than running an anti-virus in UNIX/Linux.

Sandbox

 

[MrGuvernment]

Now I KNOW you know jack shit. Keep dreaming dude.

you may be surprised, seems you may not know what you think you do, or just dont want to admit it, since windows vista, windows has come along way, also was it not OSX that had more exploits for it with in the first few months then Vista had it's first year, will have to try and digg up that comparison about it.

shall we start with apple losing 2 years in a row in competitions being the first one to get knocked out versus windows and linux?

Sure these will be blown off.


http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/09/security-snow-leopard/

Apple users have less protection from viruses and malicious software than Windows users do. But they’re still safer, security experts agree, because so few malware programs target the Mac.

Apple’s new Snow Leopard operating system, which landed in stores Friday, adds a few security enhancements to protect Mac users from malware. But like previous versions of the Mac OS, Snow Leopard lacks security features that are built in to Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, such as full Address Space Layout Randomization to thwart attacks from malicious code.

That makes Macs more vulnerable to attack, explained Charlie Miller, a security researcher and author of the book The Mac Hacker’s Handbook. But despite its weaknesses, Mac users have no reason to panic — yet. Apple’s PC market share is still roughly only about 10 percent, giving hackers and malicious software coders very little economic incentive to target the Mac.

..............
Mac owners’ smugness may not last forever. As Apple slowly expands its market share, it is gradually becoming a bigger target for attack. Two years ago there were zero pieces of malware targeting the Mac platform, and in the past year, there were a few hundred, according to John Viega, a security researcher and author of the book The Myths of Security.

http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/03/22/windows-more-secure-than-mac-os-x/



a little older
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/mac-versus-windows-vulnerability-stats-for-2007/758


Check our the chart

Avg flaws per month - OSX wins!

 

[phide]

Sandbox

What about it?

 

[santaliqueur]

you may be surprised, seems you may not know what you think you do, or just dont want to admit it, since windows vista, windows has come along way, also was it not OSX that had more exploits for it with in the first few months then Vista had it's first year, will have to try and digg up that comparison about it.

I run Vista and Windows 7 in VMs, so I'm not a blind user.

Connect a freshly installed, fully patched OS X machine to the internet, and do the same with any Windows machine. Wait a day, then scan for vulnerabilities. Which one was more secure again?

You guys may have a point if your argument wasn't based upon what-ifs. Say what you want about OS X security, but comparing it to Windows security is simply laughable.

 

[Spooony]

You are totally one hundred percent correct. I'm a windows user and can't deny its got more security holes than a tea bag.
But then you got to look at the user total and on how many pcs windows is on compared to mac. Mac is becoming popular the last few years. But windows can be secure but normally the noobs behind keyboard dig his own hole.
Anyways how's gaming on the Mac these days?

 

[Spooony]

What about it?

one of the Macs biggest security features

But then again if you go to any anti malware site like here
http://www.securelist.com/en/descriptions

You'll see macro viruses. Macro viruses for Office can infect mac just like windows. So go check all the macro viruses for Office that how many can run on mac

 

[MrGuvernment]

I run Vista and Windows 7 in VMs, so I'm not a blind user.

Connect a freshly installed, fully patched OS X machine to the internet, and do the same with any Windows machine. Wait a day, then scan for vulnerabilities. Which one was more secure again?

You guys may have a point if your argument wasn't based upon what-ifs. Say what you want about OS X security, but comparing it to Windows security is simply laughable.

again i refer you back to the 200+ critical flaws OSX had versus far less on windows and Apple systems being the first to be compromised in competitions.

i have had boxes right on the net with windows vista and windows 7 and had no exploits or been compromised and i do visit many questionable sites, for a period of about 2 months when my router kept crapping out, yes i did have antivirus installed and spybot S&D, but my system wasn't compromised.

Again, windows has come along way for security.

 

[santaliqueur]

again i refer you back to the 200+ critical flaws OSX had versus far less on windows and Apple systems being the first to be compromised in competitions.

i have had boxes right on the net with windows vista and windows 7 and had no exploits or been compromised and i do visit many questionable sites, for a period of about 2 months when my router kept crapping out, yes i did have antivirus installed and spybot S&D, but my system wasn't compromised.

Again, windows has come along way for security.

How many of these critical flaws involve having physical access to the machine? Your post covers a lot of non-specific ground. Also, "competitions" mean nothing with respect to real world security. And the "security through obscurity" fallacy no longer can be used, since Apple is in the top 5 hardware makers, and probably sell 30% of all laptops.

 

[Spooony]

No exploits on windows? Lol
there's a hundred a day almost. A security hole normally pops up due to a small error in the programming of any application. the program runs fine but if you change a small value in it it opens windows up like a can of worms and system is compromised. Its not always ms fault. But again the noobs behind the keyboard is responsible for most security holes in his system