I'm more secure, no, I'm more secure

Is the Mac more secure than the PC? Many experts agree that Mac users are less likely to get a virus, but, there is a catch.

The percentage of people using either a Mac or PC (not including other OS's e.g. Linsux) varies quite a bit, as do the polling/survey techniques used to get these percentages.  Using browser statistics is also a bit misleading, but we can combine both to get a rough average. 

Mac:  7%
PC: 90% 

Even if these numbers are off by 10 percent, it's clear that there is a substantial difference in the number of users on each platform. Vista was a substantial upgrade to XP, but Windows 7 was/is the best version of any operating system Microsoft has released. Mac just released their newest version OS X, OS x 10.6 - Snow Leopard which is more secure than any of its previous operating systems, so they claim. More PC users are infected with viruses than Mac users, but if Mac was the one with the dominate market share, those numbers would be reversed, simply because hackers always go after the larger user base.  The more machines they can infect, the more money they can make - It's really that simple.

Both, Windows 7 and Snow Leopard are secure, very intuitive and easy to setup. So why does Apple claim its OS is more secure? Is it because of the OS?  Is it because of the addiitonal security features? Is it because of their "Sandboxing" model?  No, but those are all factors.  But the real reason is this: they have less hackers trying to exploit their product.

Is I dumb, or is you dumb?

The truth is, it's just as easy to get a virus on either machine because of the fleshy component that every operating systems try to account for.  Fleshy component?  Yes, you, me and aunt Helga and every other human that sits in front computer. Many viiruses are introduced via a web browser, Safari 4.0 has the worst security out of any modern browser available today (post IE5) and is very capable of assisting a user in computer homicide. So, why is Windows still getting a bad rap?  For the same reason people are still getting viruses and malware, people, in general, fail to educate themselves on the tools they are using.

I've not had a virus on any of my machines in over 10 years, not because I am running a "super system" (muhaahaa) but because I am aware that any site I go to may contain a threat.  Any error message or pop-up I read carefully, and if I am not sure about whatever the message is stating, I simply close down my browser.  Is this overkill?  Maybe, but losing a few seconds is better than an entire day of reformatting, virus removal and re-installing all of my applications.  Browsers are not the only way to get a virus, sometimes downloading a movie or application will install malware or a virus. 

Some messages are cleverly written: "We have detected a virus, click here to install Virus Sweep, otherwise your computer might become disabled".  This message is meaningless, provided it is not actually a message from McAfee, Norton or some other credible Virus protection software (this is the education part).  Some users will click on a message (like the one above) unknowingly install what they think is a tool to remove a virus, but actually install virus or malware (with their permission).  

Using cars as an analogy:  If a person, under the influence of "something",  kills or injures another person, they can do so in either a  BMW or a Saturn.  The BMW is clearly a better vehicle, but the accident was caused due to the user's poor judgment, not the car. Now, I'm not saying Windows7 is the saturn here, I'm just pointing out the fact a tool is only as good as the person who uses it.

So which operating system is more secure, Windows 7 or Snow Leopard?

There are thousands of debates right now on which is the better OS, much will come down to user preference, because both are solid pieces of software. The real issue, the one we're talking about is which is more secure. Sadly, this comes down to which user is more educated, the one using a Mac or the one using a PC (Windows 7).  When and if Apple gains a significant market share, you will see more and more reports of viruses and hacks on Mac machines.