From the where did you read it first? department here comes an interesting claim:
Beyond obvious tips like activating firewalls, shutting computers down when not in use, and exercising caution when downloading software or using public computers, Consumer Reports offered one safety tip that's sure to inflame online passions: Consider a Mac."Although Mac owners face the same problems with spam and phishing as Windows users, they have far less to fear from viruses and spyware," said Consumer Reports.
Spot the difference between us and them? Consumer Report is not in the computing industry. What this suggests about being helpful about security will haunt computing psychologists for years to come.
For amusement, count how many security experts will pounce on the ready excuse:
"Because Macs are less prevalent than Windows-based machines, online criminals get less of a return on their investment when targeting them."Of course if that's true, it becomes less so with every Mac bought.
Can you say "monoculture!?"
U.S. consumers lost $7 billion over the last two years to viruses, spyware, and phishing schemes, according to Consumer Report's latest State of the Net survey. The survey, based on a national sample of 2,000 U.S. households with Internet access, suggests that consumers face a 25% chance of being victimized online, which represents a slight decline from last year.Posted by iang at August 9, 2007 07:36 AM | TrackBackComputer virus infections, reported by 38% of respondents, held steady since last year, which Consumer Reports considers to be a positive sign given the increasing sophistication of virus attacks. Thirty-four percent of respondents' computers succumbed to spyware in the past six months. While this represents a slight decline, according to Consumer Reports, the odds of a spyware infection remain 1 in 3 and the odds of suffering serious damage from spyware are 1 in 11.
Phishing attacks remained flat, duping some 8% of survey respondents at a median cost of $200 per incident. And 650,000 consumers paid for a product or service advertised through spam in the month before the survey, thereby seeding next year's spam crop.
Perversely, insecurity means money for computer makers: Computer viruses and spyware turn out to be significant drivers of computer sales. According to the study, virus infections drove about 1.8 million households to replace their computers over the past two years. And over the past six months, spyware infestations prompted about 850,000 households replace their computers.