why don't mac computers get viruses while pcs do?

Answer 1

If Mac's don't get viruses then explain to me why there's antivirus software available for them.
http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/products/overview.jsp?pcid=ma&pvid=nav10mac

Mac's virus free is no longer true. Maybe not many, 200-300 I read but they do indeed have.

Answer 2

Macs can get viruses. The commercials are just saying that there were more viruses for windows machines than for macs, though the commercials kind of mislead you into thinking that macs don't get any viruses at all. They can even get viruses that are intended for windows machines and can pass them on to other computers, but windows viruses do not work on macs. The reason that there are not as many is because macs only make up about 5% of the market. Therefore, there is no real reason to target them. I really hate the new mac ads for misleading the public.

Answer 3

Windows has way to many holes in it;s basic security.
Mac has no holes.
On top of that, most viruses and such are designed for Windows because that is the average standard OS.
Between tighter security, and the fact that almost all viruses are for Windows, Mac is perfect (almost).
One thing i forgot, the newest Mac isn't really even an OS, there is no way for a virus to access the OS, cuz there ain't no core ect..

Answer 4

Mac computers can get infected by viruses. The reason that they do not get infected as often is because not alot of hackers write malicious code or viruses for Macs since Macs do not make up a large portion of the PC marketplace.

Answer 5

There are two main reasons- One is market share- because there are fewer targets, it is less likely to be attacked. The second is because of the OS design. OS X is based on BSD Unix, which is a more secure design, from the ground up. The operating system protects critical components, only allows programs with certain privileges to run, and requires user authentication.

When the two factors are combined, you have less chance of a malicious person spending time to write a more complex virus.

A third possible factor is that OS X has a lot of parts that are open source, so they are more likely to be secure.

Answer 6

Its not that Mac’s can’t get viruses because they can. It’s the same reason that software is rather limited for Mac’s, they are just not being written. Hackers are not writing virus to attack Mac’s, well not many. Why attack a computer system that is limited in number when for the same amount of work you can attack millions if not billions of computers. It all comes down to numbers.

Answer 7

90% of the world has PC's
10% of the world has MAC's

When people create viruses for computers, they create them for pc's. The virus programs will not run on a mac, so they don't get viruses.

Answer 8

Macs do get viruses, but they are harder to spread and easier to get rid of. Mac has a team dedicated to removing malicious software / scripts from their computers.

I think the real question is, if Mac (OSX) were as popular as Windows-based systems (basically a 50-50 market share), would they be just as susceptible to viruses, or not?

http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20060513

Answer 9

because the majority is using PC, at least 90% computers out there are running Windows, the rest are Apple and Linux and other OS.

Now, why virus on PC more than Mac? Here's the question: say, you're a bad person, and if you have a change to mess up 100 people's lives or 10 lives...which would you choose? Easy to answer!

Answer 10

Let's see, umm viruses works like a program, so it should know what it's target is. If the viruse wa not programmed for a mac, then the "program" is useless and won't work.

Or, the viruse -making people aren't so busy making it for the mac.