Another reason they are safer is due to Apple’s closed system, they tend to control everything form the software to their hardware. Unfortunately, Apple has been getting more popular with every passing day, and it’s been becoming an ever greater target for hackers.
The large part of malicious attacks are launched against Windows computers, and they wont do anything to a Mac, or a Linux computer, primarily because of the difference in the programing language, and paths. A windows machine uses EXE files to run and instal different types of software, while OS X uses DMG. So when a virus comes into the system looking to instal an EXE file and instead it finds a DMG file it has no idea was to what to do next so the program fails to instal the proper files and thus it dies on it’s tracks.
Now here is the problem, Mac users have this mentality that they have an enhanced security machine and that viruses don’t infect their PC’s because of how “awesome” the computers are. Unfortunately the real reason is because of how unpopular the PC is, as I stated above, this isn’t the case anymore. A security firm brought up several concerns about the security of Macs, people trust them so much, that “they wont know what hit them” when a virus attack comes knocking at their door.
The Firm found a malicious program called Mac Defender, it tricks users into believing that a virus has infected their computer and then it offers to remove it. When the user clicks on the “remove virus” icon, Mac Defender itself is downloaded into the computer and it infects your PC. Mac Defender is, of course, the virus
“In the security realm we see this all the time on Windows systems,” Joel Esler of security company Sourcefire Vulnerability Research Team told the Daily Mail. “But I’m guessing the Mac user community doesn’t have much experience with this type of scam.” so naturally they click on it to find out what it is, after all, they believe that no virus can infect their computers.
Security firm Sophos’s Graham Cluley added: “Because Mac users don’t use anti-virus protection then they are seen as a soft target. Macs have become a victim of their own success.” One thing to remember is, if hackers really wanted to, they can take over your system in a heart beat, look at what’s been happening to Sony lately.
Via Daily Mail UK
