Macsimum News - Study claims that Macs are just as unsafe to use without antivirus software as PCs

Study claims that Macs are just as unsafe to use without antivirus software as PCs

Posted by Dennis Sellers Apple ico Nov 17, 2009 at 8:05pm

A new study by ESET—which develops software solutions that deliver instant, comprehensive protection against evolving computer security threats—claims that Mac users victims of cybercrime just as frequently as PC users.

According to the study, 57% of Mac users feel it is safe to use their computers without anti-virus software, while only 27% of PC users feel it is safe to do so. The study also says that most American’s aren’t aware that cybercrime is linked to organized crime and that less than 50% of Americans know what phishing is.

Organized crime? “Viruses and trojans are no longer the purview of pimple-faced punks who never see the sun,” says the ESET study. “Malware has become a tool of the organized crime, but only about one out of five Americans realize it is not the lone wolf who is biting them.”

“Not at all surprising is the fact that both PC and Mac users perceive the Mac as being safer, but the statistics show that Mac users are victims of cybercrime just as frequently as PC users,” says Randy Abrams, ESET’s director of technical education. “The most probable explanation for this would be confusing viruses as being cybercrime. 57% of Mac users feel it is safe to use their computers without antivirus software where only 27% of PC users feel it is safe to do so. Much of the losses associated with cybercrime are related to phishing attacks. Phishing attacks are just as effective on Macs, Linux, Windows, Solaris, and any operating system since they rely on tricking the user and not upon malicious software or any software vulnerabilities. The Mac offers no immunity to phishing attacks and so we see a virtually equal percentage of victim representation across the board.”

Of course, since ESET makes antivirus software, I have to take the study with a grain of salt. But let’s have our own informal study: if you’re a Mac user and have fallen victim to a trojan, malware or virus, drop me a line at dsellers@macsimumnews.com

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Contributor

Dennis Sellers

Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 10,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.