More Mac users = Mac less safe

Posted on Monday, May 14 2007 @ 9:07 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
ZD Net writes that the more users Mac OS X gets, the less secure the operating system will get:
The growth is good news for Apple. Achieving such an impressive increase in user base in such a short period of time will certainly go down well with investors. After years of being on a plateau, this kind of boost in numbers shows that Apple has finally hit on a winning formula. Whether this will be merely a transient phenomenon or result in some kind of long-term growth and erosion into the PC market is still to be seen, but numbers like that certainly look good.

For Mac users I'm not so sure whether this is good news or not. Certainly it's a sign that Mac is becoming an acceptable alternative to the PC, which means that Mac users won't feel so marginalized, but it's bad for security. This kind of huge and rapid increase in Mac users online in the US is just what the hackers and cyber criminals are waiting for. While I don't think that 6% is a demographic worth targeting (especially when the remainder is made up mostly of Windows users), it's getting closer to the tipping point when it will be financially viable for the hackers to take aim at Mac systems.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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