Mac fanatics. An elite group of Mac users who rant and rave about their superior operating systems, and scoff at frozen windows and spyware blockers. We as a group feel we must defend our favorite company every time it comes under attack by the infamous "Mac-bashers". And one of our key points is that our wonderful Apple computers are free of viruses, spyware, and the like that reguarly appears on Windows computers. But is this about to change?
As you've probably heard, the first "virus" has been spotted on Macintosh computers. Now these Windows users need to get their facts straight before they go crazy. First of all, this so-called virus: is a trojan. No, I'm not talking about Greek mythology. A trojan is a type of computer virus which comes disguised as a program. In this case, it came disguised as exclusive pictures of Mac OS 10.5 Leopard. As one forum post rightly said, "Windows users are tempted by Britney Spears, Mac users by a new GUI element in their operating system."
Now don't go running to buy Norton just yet. The fact is, this is harmless. What exactly does this thing do? Well, basically, it goes into your system, attaches itself to some files, transmits itself through iChat, and... well, that's pretty much it. And how do you get rid of it? Delete it and restart your computer. Not much of a threat, is it? And that's not all. Soon after this "virus" was found, another piece of "proof-of-concept" malware was found transmititng itself through Bluetooth. That is, if you even get close enough to another Mac with Bluetooth so it can be transmitted. On top of that, a patch has already been issued. 9 months ago.
So the question arises of whether we should brush this off with an eye-roll, or prepare for the apocalypse. Mac users have always been nonchalant about security, and it's one of the major components that make Macs better than PCs. Evil-doing computer fiends want to spread their maliciousness to as widespread an audience as possible, and the fact of the matter is that Mac users are in much smaller numbers that Widnows users. Nor is Safari riddled with the security holes of Internet Explorer. And we can feels even more secure with each new OS update, knowing we are getting patched up in all the right places.
But does this mean we'll never get a virus? No. It absolutely does NOT. Someday, and most likely not soon, we will see the first Mac virus. As Apple grows and more and more people begin to switch from Windows to Mac, we will reach a greater risk of infection. But until we become large enough of a target, keep on bragging to your PC-lover friends. Mac: the most secure computer out there.
For those of you who are wondering, the article title roots from the book of Aeneid, going back the Greek times and the siege of Troy. There you go, bit of history for you.