why doesnt windows adopt some mac anti virus/malware stategies?

[guns1inger]

It is a reference to the CanSecWest Hack Off, which pitted hackers against laptops running OSX, Vista or Ubuntu. You hack the laptop, you get to keep it, along with US$5000. OS X was hacked first via a Safari hole. Vista fell second due to a security hole in Flash. Don't know if or how Unbuntu was hacked.

http://blogs.csoonline.com/conferences_mac_hack_contest_a_three_way_race_this_year
http://www.crm-daily.com/story.xhtml?story_id=13300DMMVM27
http://www.macworld.com/article/132717/2008/03/hackersuperbowl.html

And plenty more if you google.

[AlanHK]

I have been using a PC since 1989. so thats now 20 years.
I once read that the reason viruses are written is coz people hate Bill Gates.
What has always baffled me is what do virus writers/spammers/malaware writers get out of all of their work?

It used to just be a way to show off.

Now it's mainly financial, (e.g., stealing passwords, credit card info, turning PCs into spam engines). So they're more professional, and more dangerous.

[Rudyard]

Thanks for all the replies, its good to see so many perspective on things, hope there is more to come.

If I were to jump on a conspiracy theory I would say anti virus companies ham up the threat of viruses to sell more products.

How often do you hear of some massive new virus set to wipe the world (the melissa virus?) that must panic people into buying more stuff.

A mate of mine was to paranoid to buy his anti virus online in case he caught a virus whilst going to the site to buy it that he went and paid more for the packaged version!

Keep the fear in our minds and people will continue to pay.

I have had a vista PC for about 6 months with no virus or not even any spyware (that is being picked up anyway....)

On XP used to have a tiny bit of spyware from time to time when I did my scans but nothing harmful and certainly no killer virus's.

However my wifes grandfather has his PC maintained by someone and it is so badly covered in shit (porn links all over teh desktop and other type junk) all the time that I cant imagine how he gets it other than he goes to all the links in spam email.

He has no computer sense at all, all he does is write letters in word and access his hotmail account.

Was what got me thinking and to post this thread.

[victoriabears]

I was in a bank today and this guy in his 60's had printed out a spam email and he was asking why the bank sent it to him, he was asking how the bank got his email and why his isp alllowed it

To those of us interfnet savvy it blows the mind.

[Nelson37]

Over the years I have several times tried Linux, with an eye towards having a possible alternative OS at low-cost which might be usable for customers, either business or home. Usually I am impressed at first with how useful and functional it is, for free. That feeling lasts right up until I find a need to install an additional hardware driver or a particular program to privide necessary functionality beyond E-mail and Internet. This experience invariably leaves me shaking my head and wondering what the hell these people are smoking. For the vast majority of PC users, there is just no way in hell Linux is a viable alternative.

To say that Linux is "safe" is like saying that you'll never get mugged if you remain inside your steel-reinforced panic room.

The strength of the PC is its Versatility, its ability to be whatever the user desires it to be. Linux may to some extent have that versatility, but it is near-totally inaccessible to the average user.

As for the Windows Admin issue, I have some shops where the PC's are totally locked down and require the IT department (me) to perform any upgrades or changes. I have others where the PC's are open and require the IT department (me) to repair or remove the virus infection. It's a close call which approach is more cost-effective, my opinion on which is better has come down to the size of the shop, types of operations, and dollar value of the shared data at risk. A side issue is that it is usually easier to train an in-house person to perform upgrades and changes than to train someone in what they need to know to remove stubborn viruses.

Just like most folks have to be nailed by a hardware failure to appreciate backups, it usually takes an infection for users to get serious about virus protection and safe user habits.

Also agree with the above statement that the creators of virii and spyware are no longer punk kids doing vandalism, they are paid professionals making money for providing a requested service. A determined effort aimed at both punishing these people for grand larceny and including those who had hired them would make a significant dent in the practice.