False insecurity

Posted by # August 17th 02:18 PM

Consumer Reports has published a new report about internet security among consumers. One of the gists of the account is that Macs are still safer than Windows PC’s:

Macs are safer than Windows PCs for some online hazards. Only 20 percent of Mac owners surveyed reported detecting a virus in the past two years, compared with 66 percent of Windows PC owners.

What’s interesting is that every fifth Mac user in the USA has detected a virus even though there is not a single Mac virus out in the wild at the moment. The jury is still out on what viruses these guys have detected but I’m pretty sure it’s not a Mac virus. Polyconsumption, perhaps.

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  1. Jarkko 08.19.05 / 12PM

    Mark,

    You’re right. My point is that the report make the situation on OS X (every 5th Mac has been infected, yay!) sound a lot worse than it actually is. Unfortunately, the average reader probably have no idea that the virus those 20 percent have detected is not harmful to their Mac whatsoever.

  2. Mark Rowe 08.19.05 / 14PM

    It’s a report that contains statistics that are presented in a misleading manner. That’s about par for the course :-)

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