Apple, Microsoft, or Linux?

[Helertia]

True Story:
The reason Mac is supposedly virus proof is because no one bothers to invent viruses for a Mac, as no one uses them!

Not true. A hacker who came up with a reliable way to add Apple machines to a botnet would have a boundless resource at their disposal, since most Mac users don't bother with antivirus software. Plus, bragging rights are a huge motivator. The first one with a Mac botnet be deified in hacker lore.

Yes, Apple doesn't have the overwhelming market share that Microsoft enjoys. That's not the only reason there aren't any active trojans or viruses for the Mac in the network. The same goes with Linux, particularly since Linux runs at least half the world's servers.

Perhaps, but the comics are fun. Ergo, I'm right!

[The_pantless_hero]

Question: If you hate Apple software, why do you a) use them or b) use products that require them? You don't need to own an iPod, there are tonnes of other digital music players out there.

Never mind the fact that iTunes is the only way to access the iTunes store.

So what's your problem exactly?

My problem now is that you are obviously some sort of fanboy tool.

[Taeshan]

Question: If you hate Apple software, why do you a) use them or b) use products that require them? You don't need to own an iPod, there are tonnes of other digital music players out there.

Never mind the fact that iTunes is the only way to access the iTunes store.

So what's your problem exactly?

My problem now is that you are obviously some sort of fanboy tool.

I have windoes and i have Itunes, your point.

[NERV arms conglomerate]

MAC's are way overpriced, PC is my choice

MAC-"hello im a mac,"
PC-"and im a PC,"
MAC-"im way over priced and i look nice, PC what happened, you look like Darth Vader"
PC-"i got a new case, and i got a complete upgrade, it all cost less than you factory standard"
MAC-"well i can use photoshop and i have the industry standard video editor"
PC"and i can play games like call of duty 4, and i am pretty good at most things"
LINUX-"but your not the best at it"
PC-"so you decided to show your face did ya?"
LINUX-"yep, and im back, you are both running on my servers all over the world, i could shut you down easy"
MAC-"just try, i have the new i-glock plugged in"
PC- "and i have the shield removable storage drive"
LINUX-"nigh night..."
MAC and PC then fell over with error messages all over them
LINUX-"told ya i am the best, even SKYNET uses my OS..."

[Dakini]

I'm sure that's why I had to remove multiple Zune-related programs from my parents' machine as well? Apple is definitely not the only company that does this.

What 'Zune-related' programs?

There were a couple of programs with Zune in their names. It's not my computer (or my mp3 player), I was just trying to clean it up so it wouldn't take 20 minutes (literally) to load.

[Dakini]

Question: If you hate Apple software, why do you a) use them or b) use products that require them? You don't need to own an iPod, there are tonnes of other digital music players out there.

Never mind the fact that iTunes is the only way to access the iTunes store.

Why buy from the iTunes store? I don't.

So what's your problem exactly?

My problem now is that you are obviously some sort of fanboy tool.

Yep. I'm an Apple fanboy who is female and uses a linux machine most of the time. I don't own an iPod, iPhone, anything like this. I don't even use iTunes or most of the iLife software. I just quietly use my mac laptop which offers stable terminals so I can work remotely and don't bitch about what I've got while you bitch about things you don't have to use.

[Mikertaz Kein]

MAC's are way overpriced, PC is my choice

MAC-"hello im a mac,"
PC-"and im a PC,"
MAC-"im way over priced and i look nice, PC what happened, you look like Darth Vader"
PC-"i got a new case, and i got a complete upgrade, it all cost less than you factory standard"
MAC-"well i can use photoshop and i have the industry standard video editor"
PC"and i can play games like call of duty 4, and i am pretty good at most things"
LINUX-"but your not the best at it"
PC-"so you decided to show your face did ya?"
LINUX-"yep, and im back, you are both running on my servers all over the world, i could shut you down easy"
MAC-"just try, i have the new i-glock plugged in"
PC- "and i have the shield removable storage drive"
LINUX-"nigh night..."
MAC and PC then fell over with error messages all over them
LINUX-"told ya i am the best, even SKYNET uses my OS..."

You Just Won.





However, this is relevant as well...

[NotnotgnimmiJymmiJ]

True Story:
The reason Mac is supposedly virus proof is because no one bothers to invent viruses for a Mac, as no one uses them!

Not true. A hacker who came up with a reliable way to add Apple machines to a botnet would have a boundless resource at their disposal, since most Mac users don't bother with antivirus software. Plus, bragging rights are a huge motivator. The first one with a Mac botnet be deified in hacker lore.

Yes, Apple doesn't have the overwhelming market share that Microsoft enjoys. That's not the only reason there aren't any active trojans or viruses for the Mac in the network. The same goes with Linux, particularly since Linux runs at least half the world's servers.

Actually there was a case recently of someone making a botnet using a trojan in an ilife torrent. Making a botnet is not as easy as you make it out to be. It always relies on the user basically being incompetent. You can't just find an exploit in an OS and then reach across the entire internet with your evil hacker tentacles infecting every computer.

If we assume that mac users are just as incompetent as windows users on average, there will still be like 8 or 9 times as many incompetent windows users out there as there are mac users. Why bother making a botnet for mac when you could have so many more computers at your disposal targeting windows?

[Mikertaz Kein]

Maybe Windows viruses are an evil scheme by Apply, INC. to discourage teh use of Windows, thus making their OS superior and making Apple the only OS in the World!.../conspiracytheory

[Cannot think of a name]

I've owned both Macs and PCs. They're both good for different things. I really don't understand the obsessive fanboy love/hatred on this topic.

If you can't get irrationally bent out of shape and inappropriately self-righteous about purchases other people make, then the internet would collapse like a hollow shell.

[Treznor]

True Story:
The reason Mac is supposedly virus proof is because no one bothers to invent viruses for a Mac, as no one uses them!

Not true. A hacker who came up with a reliable way to add Apple machines to a botnet would have a boundless resource at their disposal, since most Mac users don't bother with antivirus software. Plus, bragging rights are a huge motivator. The first one with a Mac botnet be deified in hacker lore.

Yes, Apple doesn't have the overwhelming market share that Microsoft enjoys. That's not the only reason there aren't any active trojans or viruses for the Mac in the network. The same goes with Linux, particularly since Linux runs at least half the world's servers.

Actually there was a case recently of someone making a botnet using a trojan in an ilife torrent. Making a botnet is not as easy as you make it out to be. It always relies on the user basically being incompetent. You can't just find an exploit in an OS and then reach across the entire internet with your evil hacker tentacles infecting every computer.

If we assume that mac users are just as incompetent as windows users on average, there will still be like 8 or 9 times as many incompetent windows users out there as there are mac users. Why bother making a botnet for mac when you could have so many more computers at your disposal targeting windows?

Because even if there are only a hundred million computers in the US (I think I'm guessing on the low side here) and only 10% of them are Macs, that's still ten million computers to add to your botnet. Last I read a few years ago, most of the bigger botnets are around a few hundred thousand strong. What hacker wouldn't like an unsuspecting quarry of ten million computers to invade and control?

With the scale we're talking about, it'd be worth it. Few Mac users are really on the alert for malware because they've learned they simply don't need it.

[Bazhaa]

I use mac, against my will, and all I have to say is fuck mac. Its a nice OS, but that does not matter in the slightest when games can not be found or operated right with torrents. Which can be depressing when the only game that works on the comp is spore and some GTA game mutilated to run on a OS it didn't intend to without any semblance of control over the main character's motions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boot_Camp_%28software%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_controls

[KaIashnikov]

PC all the way.

[NotnotgnimmiJymmiJ]

Because even if there are only a hundred million computers in the US (I think I'm guessing on the low side here) and only 10% of them are Macs, that's still ten million computers to add to your botnet. Last I read a few years ago, most of the bigger botnets are around a few hundred thousand strong. What hacker wouldn't like an unsuspecting quarry of ten million computers to invade and control?

With the scale we're talking about, it'd be worth it. Few Mac users are really on the alert for malware because they've learned they simply don't need it.

Yes, in absolute terms there are enough macs out there to hypothetically make a huge botnet. But you're still going to get like 8 times as many computers targeting Windows. That's why so few people bother targeting macs.

[Non Aligned States]

Because even if there are only a hundred million computers in the US (I think I'm guessing on the low side here) and only 10% of them are Macs, that's still ten million computers to add to your botnet. Last I read a few years ago, most of the bigger botnets are around a few hundred thousand strong. What hacker wouldn't like an unsuspecting quarry of ten million computers to invade and control?

With the scale we're talking about, it'd be worth it. Few Mac users are really on the alert for malware because they've learned they simply don't need it.

Infecting 10 million computers still needs getting to 10 million computers. If you infect one site with a Mac specific virus, you'll have a relatively low spread rate. You could spam mail a bunch of trojans and hope that enough Mac users will get them to spread to other Mac users, which is not guaranteed, since they aren't statistically likely to know each other.

Whereas the higher traffic of PCs to websites means that your spread ratio is simply that much higher. It's the numbers game, and odds are really low on big payoff for infecting Mac machines, even if they're dead easy to infect.

[Rejistania]

If you'd infect a site which is visited by mostly iDiots Mac-users then you would be able to create a botnet rather easily. Though not for the same time since Macs seem to require reinstallation more often than Windows 95 systems did because they screwed up file permissions again.

[Non Aligned States]

If you'd infect a site which is visited by mostly iDiots Mac-users then you would be able to create a botnet rather easily. Though not for the same time since Macs seem to require reinstallation more often than Windows 95 systems did because they screwed up file permissions again.

And what site would that be?

[New Kereptica]

If you'd infect a site which is visited by mostly iDiots Mac-users then you would be able to create a botnet rather easily. Though not for the same time since Macs seem to require reinstallation more often than Windows 95 systems did because they screwed up file permissions again.

And what site would that be?

DeviantArt would take 'em down in droves, I'd bet.

[Rejistania]

If you'd infect a site which is visited by mostly iDiots Mac-users then you would be able to create a botnet rather easily. Though not for the same time since Macs seem to require reinstallation more often than Windows 95 systems did because they screwed up file permissions again.

And what site would that be?

I am a Linux-zealot, so not sure... something which offers Mac software, I guess, or lifestyle products.

[Surote]

PC for computer mac for other computer programs

[Katganistan]

Just bought my seventh PC.

[New Kereptica]

PC for computer mac for other computer programs

Hackintosh, eh? 'S how I run my old Mac games.

[Getbrett]

Perhaps this is relevant (and recent): http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/ ... WN_wins_5k

[Beachchairs]

Fools, Plan 9 is the surperior os!

[Everyone is a Pony]

I have Vista, and I've not had an issue with it to date.

Well, yes, I have. I had a virus a while ago. But it turns out it was a PEBCAK thing.