So Macs can't get any Viruses?

Question

Compared with a Microsoft Windows XP, Macs cant get any viruses? at all????

Even if i download music from like limewire or a torrent?

no viruses at all???

Answer 1

It's not that Mac's can't get viruses, it's just the target media. Because of the prohibitive pricing, Mac's just don't own the greater share of the market. PC's with Windows do. So don't think that your completely safe, but yes you are certainly safer than a PC user.

Answer 2

After 6 years of OS X being in the consumer space and with over 9 million Macs sold every year, there have been ZERO viruses written for the Mac that exist in the wild. People have written "tests" in labs to exploit certain rare vulnerabilities, but even those tests are unable to propagate (spread) effectively due to Mac security measures.

People who tell you market share is "the" factor are incorrect. Look at the server market. Linux and Unix dominate in terms of market share and yet Windows Server has the lion's share of the viruses by a huge margin. If market share explained these things away then that would not be the case. Windows was not built with the same level of security that Unix and thus OS X was. Period.

Don't get me wrong. It's technically "possible" for a Mac to get a virus - any OS can, but if there have been zero in 6 years with millions of users out there and market share growing all the time, then you can feel pretty safe. Especially when compared to running Windows.

Answer 3

Linux and Mac fanboys and girls aside, yes Mac can get viruses and other Malware. Yes, it has happened in the wild, and yes it can happen to you.

It is market share related. Sorry fanboys and girls. Mac has the smallest user base of all the modern desktop OSs. Microsoft has the largest. Also Mac OSX is not Linux, and neither is Linux the same as Unix. It should also be noted that Mac has had more Malware and vulnerabilites since OSX than it ever had before.

Server market share is really not relevant and is a highly disputed number anyways.

The largest security hole in any computer is the user.

Answer 4

I have use mac for 4 or 5 years and no viruses..

Answer 5

Allow me, the only one who's answered so far to know anything about Mac, to answer this question. Macs don't get viruses. Period. And it's NOT because of low market share and lack of users. It's because Mac OS X is based on solid UNIX. Most of the types of attacks that take place on Windows XP can't even happen on a Mac. Here's a technical article explaining this whole issue.

http://weblog.infoworld.com/enterprisemac/archives/2006/08/is_windows_inhe.html

Answer 6

The revenues female did no longer be responsive to what she became speaking approximately. No Macs at the instant are not "virus evidence" A firewall isn't anti-virus application. some protection application includes the two yet they do no longer look to be an identical. As for a Mac unquestionably catching, that's plenty much less probable. the present flavors of Mac have been based off Linux which in turn became based off of Unix. All of which had a multi-person ecosystem in innovations write from the 1st layout. domicile windows, on the different hand progressively added multiuser function. In designing a equipment in this variety the equipment needless to say had nicely defined parameters for various classifications of purchasers and categories of courses. in case you be responsive to you're starting to be multiple purchasers and you do no longer desire them tweaking with the OS then you definately are making it so they are in a position to't mess with the middle components of the OS. In Linux if this methodology does not have appropriate study write or execute flags then it could no longer do specific projects. and prefer I reported this became concept-approximately on the initiating. domicile windows got here up a diverse ladder from dos. Which became designed for a single person. in case you only have one person on your laptop which will by no skill be linked to a community you incredibly do no longer could desire to situation approximately who can or can no longer get admission to what. for this reason MS courses did no longer behave nicely while Microsoft initially began migrating to a multi-person ecosystem. without nicely defined permissions that artwork nicely with the OS and permit the person to accomplish elementary computing desires, that's quite straightforward to place in writing courses which will scouse borrow the tutor. for this reason we've all the laptop viruses that have taken over for one in each of those long term.

Answer 7

It's not that Mac can't get viruses. It is just that there are hardly any viruses written that can affect a MAC. I have heard of only one for OS X and that one is not really destructive.

Answer 8

Macs have such a small share of the market that most viruses aren't created for them.

There are a few instances of Mac viruses; however, if you've got a newer model, they have a pretty good firewall.

Answer 9

It is highly unlikely you would get a virus using file sharing programs on a mac but its still possible. Its not impossible to make a mac virus or a virus for any UNIX variant its just much more difficult than for Windows, if your downloading copyrighted music illegally then you have no one to blame but yourself if you don't get what you expected.

The small market share nonsense is a myth, some of the most desirable systems in the world to hackers are running UNIX of one flavor or another and are not hacked.

Answer 10

A mac can get a virus but since more people use windows you are less likely to get a virus .