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1 million Windows users have switched to Apple computers so far this year.
 technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

T e c h n o f i l e
Macintosh, here we come: Why Windows switchers don't have to worry about viruses and replacment software


Dec. 4, 2005


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2005, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2005, The Post-Standard

   Apple has been selling a lot of computers to former Windows users this year. At least a million buyers switched from Windows to new Macintoshes in the last nine months, according to an analyst for the financial forecasting firm Needham & Co.
   Apple's iPod also continues to set sales records. The investment firm Morgan Stanley estimates that 27 million iPods are now in use worldwide, compared to five million a year ago. iPod sales will continue to fuel an increasing rate of Macintosh computer sales as iPod buyers who use Windows get a chance to check out Macintosh computers in Apple's stores.
   Apple's clearly on a roll. Yet the reasons many Windows users cite for switching to an Apple computer -- greater online safety and freedom from such pests as viruses and spyware -- haven't convinced some others. Based on the letters I've received recently from Windows users who are considering switching, many Windows users are worried about finding software to replace their familiar programs. Others say they are wondering if Apple's computers will soon be just as dangerous as Windows PCs; after all, they say, wouldn't the virus and spyware writers go after Macs, too, someday?
   Let's start with some basics. Apple's Macintosh computers use OS X (pronounced "OS Ten") as their operating system. It's Unix and as such is inherently safer than Windows.
   (Don't get OS X confused with the operating system used on older Macintoshes. That system, called simply Mac OS or the Mac "System" as in "System 7," was phased out over the last few years. The old Mac OS was not designed for safety and security.)
   Now to specifics:
   VIRUSES AND SPYWARE: As of now (December 2005) there are no viruses or spyware for OS X. There are, however, a total of two dozen viruses for the discontinued Mac OS operating system. This is why you'll sometimes hear or read about "Macintosh viruses" if this important distinction isn't made. (A Mac OS virus can't infect a computer running Mac OS X.)
   No one has yet reported spyware for either version of the Macintosh operating system.
   Sophos, an antivirus firm, has counted 103,000 active Windows viruses. Spyware totals are unknown, but the math is frightening. Symantec, one of the most respected researchers in this field, estimates that each day 30,000 more Windows PCs are infected by zombies -- virus-like invaders that hijack a PC and turn it into a spyware and spam relay during the night. There are no known zombies for Mac OS X computers.
   What will happen if the bad guys start targeting OS X? Not much. Unlike Windows, Mac OS X does not allow programs to take over central operations of the computer, nor does it let a program (or even a user) install new software without express permission.
   So anything that sneaks into an Apple OS X Macintosh would have to convince the user to type the "admin" password before it could install malicious software. If this happened, an OS X invader would then have to overcome the protections built into Unix and disable the OS X firewall before it could cause problems or report home -- a scenario that's unlikely at best.
   COMPARABLE SOFTWARE: Microsoft sells Office 2004, the Macintosh OS X version of Office for Windows. It's got Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel, along with Entourage, the Mac OS X equivalent of Microsoft Outlook. (Warning: If you use Microsoft Access, you should note that it is NOT included in Office 2004. But FileMaker Pro 7, a database program for Mac OS X, can handle Access data easily.)
   You can skip Microsoft Office if you don't need anything fancy; Apple's built-in TextEdit word processor has a great spell checker and can open most Word files nicely.
   Apple's Mac OS X comes with Apple Mail, an e-mail program that looks like Outlook Express and supports multiple accounts. It filters spam and can keep spammers from knowing when you view spam mail, even if you immediately delete it. (This is a particular weakness of Windows.)
   The Web browser in OS X, called Safari, is especially well designed and is safer than the Web browser Microsoft includes in Windows, Internet Explorer. It does not use ActiveX, the most dangerous part of Internet Explorer for Windows, and has many other small improvements.
   Apple's iTunes music software is the same on an OS X Mac as it is under Windows, and Apple's GarageBand MIDI audio recording software comes free; comparable Windows software costs a few hundred dollars. Mac OS X computers also have movie editing and DVD-creation software included at no charge.
   There's much more, as you'd expect. Go to my Syracuse.com blog for my thoughts on other Mac OS X software. The blog is at www.syracuse.com/technology/weblog.