Many in the media and computer security industry are claiming that Mac OS X is not a safe or secure operating system, but Walt Mossberg disagrees. In response to reader questions, he shares his views on the state of Mac security in The Wall Street Journal.
He states "There is no sudden security crisis on the Apple Macintosh platform. In fact, for average Mac users, there isnit a security threat of any significance, at least not yet."
To date, there are no know viruses for Mac OS X, no spyware applications, and only two malicious applications that amounted to little more than proof-of-concept demonstrations. In comparison, there are over 100,000 reported viruses for Microsoft Windows. And just because a potential vulnerability has been discovered doesnit mean it is being exploited. This holds true for both Mac OS X and Windows.
Mr. Mossberg comments "I see no reason to buy and run [Mac] security software, which is in itself costly and can degrade your computing experience."