Why aren't there more Leopard Viruses?

[Cousin Dirk]

The argument that Windows has more viruses solely on the basis of market share is ignorant, to say the least.

Think about it. There are a number of people in this thread alone saying that you don't need an antivirus for OS X. Think about it, if there are millions of Macs out there unprotected, then any virus would be able to spread far and wide. And yet, there are NO viruses for OS X in the wild. None. Yes, some have been written in the lab, created as a proof of concept, if you will. But as others have said, even these need to convince the user to install it before it can do anything.

Given how high profile OS X is, especially with its "virus free" image, if it was as easy to write viruses for OS X as it were for Windows, there would be at least ONE virus out there that would affect the Mac.

Of course, this doesn't mean that you don't need an antivirus if you are a Mac user. With millions of Macs out there, it could be seen as a ticking time bomb if most of those are unprotected.

Also, where are these "5% market share" figures coming from? Last I checked, Apple had just shy of 3% of the total worldwide market (including Enterprise), or 10% of the worldwide consumer market (20% of the US consumer market). Yes, I looked that up

 

[Chrissvp]

Also, where are these "5% market share" figures coming from? Last I checked, Apple had just shy of 3% of the total worldwide market (including Enterprise), or 10% of the worldwide consumer market (20% of the US consumer market). Yes, I looked that up

Market share can mean different things.

For example we can look at unit sales over the last 3 months or 12 months but perhaps the figure we really need is the installed user base. Or as this discussion is based around viruses then the market share of internet usage may be more appropriate.

Net Applications show Mac Operating System market share as 8.21% based on internet usage.

 

[kolax]

I have no opinions about the ethics of a company like Symantec at all, but if there was any evidence that they were in any way responsible for any virus, the result would be the mother of all class action lawsuits. Every ambulance chasing lawyer in the USA would try to get their share of Symantec's money. And do you think there is any chance to keep something like that secret?

They'll pay people to write viruses for them under the conditions for test reasons only - to try and bullet proof their Anti-Virus software. Then, slight modification, and set it loose into the wild.

We live in a corrupt world, and it'll stay like that as long as money is the top priority in our lives.

 

[old-wiz]

I have no opinions about the ethics of a company like Symantec at all, but if there was any evidence that they were in any way responsible for any virus, the result would be the mother of all class action lawsuits. Every ambulance chasing lawyer in the USA would try to get their share of Symantec's money. And do you think there is any chance to keep something like that secret?

Exactly the point! If Symantec or any other company did something like this sooner or later a disgruntled employee would spill the beans. It would be the end of the company's credibility. The federal government could prosecute them too - they might call it a terrorist act.
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[themoonisdown09]

Exactly the point! If Symantec or any other company did something like this sooner or later a disgruntled employee would spill the beans. It would be the end of the company's credibility. The federal government could prosecute them too - they might call it a terrorist act.
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Anytime Symantec has a disgruntled employee, coincidently, they get shot the next day...