If there were a computer that was immune to security breaches, most people would buy it. Mac lovers often boast about the Mac OS X operating system being the safest in terms of virus and spyware infections, but are these claims true? Apple advertises its products as better-designed and more secure than Windows, but how much of that is healthy market competition and how much is hard fact?
A big part of the equation is the predominance of Windows products over Mac products. So even if Windows and Mac are equally secure, there will be more examples of security threats to Windows products because they exist in greater numbers. Because most of the country owns a PC, virus creators design their codes to attack the Windows operating system. The chances of these scammers finding someone to scam is increased when they target PCs, so they do.
So how come hackers don’t target Mac users in addition to Windows users? The answer to this question is why many believe Macs to be superior to PCs. Mac OS X is more complicated to write malicious code for. The operating system was originally created to work only with Power PC processors. These processors use different instructions than processors used by PCs, thus generating a more elaborate procedure for coding. In other words, it isn’t worth it to go through the trouble when it it’s painless to find and exploit weaknesses in Windows processors.
The use of Macs is spreading, though, which may tempt hackers to put more effort into their Mac hacking ventures. A Mac could be completely vulnerable to attacks, but a Mac will never receive a virus or spyware intended for a PC. PC viruses are created specifically for PCs, which leave Macs safe until someone decides to construct a large-scale Mac virus. Mac users beware: You may be safe now, but you won’t be forever!