“Left to its own meanderings, your Windows computer is not to be trusted. Don’t do any online banking unless you have a router, a firewall, the latest anti-virus, the latest Windows patches, the latest Windows OS, three anti-spyware applications, and you fully understand what “phishing” means. If you don’t know what these are, what you’re doing or how to properly configure, secure and operate your own server, turn your computer off. Or buy a Mac or Linux desktop and slip under the radar,” Kelly Martin writes for SecurityFocus.
Kelly Martin has been working with networks and security since 1986, and is currently the chief editor for Symantec’s independent online magazine, SecurityFocus.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Windows users, there really is a better way – a much better way. Our Windows-only readers should consider adding a safe, secure, and powerful Mac OS X machine to their computing arsenals. For information about how to do so smoothly, please click here.
For inexpensive entry to the Mac platform, you might want to take a look at Apple’s new Mac Mini which starts at just US$499 — it just might be the perfect machine for you. And don’t forget to order it with 512MB RAM, you’ll want it.
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I like having Windowze around. It reminds me of how good we have it here on the RIGHT side. One day, Windowzers will wake up and wonder what they heck they’ve been doing all these years.
Or maybe, MS will go to a *NIX kernel and solve 90% of their security problems…. yeah right!
god…I have a mac at home but I check my accounts all the time at work on a peecee! I gotta stop doing that!!! danger will robinson!!!
“your Windows computer is not to be trusted”
It’s about time somebody in the PC security business said it!
“Or maybe, MS will go to a *NIX kernel and solve 90% of their security problems.”
With Longhorn dead in the water, don’t give them any ideas.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” /> Although it’d be interesting to see how many years it’d take MS to “embrace and extend” a functioning *NIX OS.
I stopped using Windows when it was 3.1. In 1992 I got sick and tired of having to stop my legal work and having to take time to bring the Windows system back on line. This happened every Friday when the secretarial staff did their weekly backups (read stuff-ups).
I was the only one who had any idea how the system worked except I didn’t really understand the system. I was the one-eyed man in the kingdom of the blind.
In 1993 a mate loaned me his old Mac Plus and I was hooked. In the two years I used that computer I had one crash and lost half a page of teacher notes.
Flashing forward to 2005 in April this year I dumped my anti-virus software because I just didn’t need it. I use Panther and all I did was enable the OS’s firewall and the manual opening of downloads.
These steps finally convinced my sister to replace her ageing Windows (Windows something) with an eMac. I’m still fine-tuning Tiger for her but the OS just works.
(Postscript: The reason I still use Panther is that I use certain third party software apps which have not been updated for Tiger. There are no software alternatives. Damn bloody nation.)
MDN magic word “step” as in one small step…
I wonder if the switch to Intel will open up any vulnerabilities.
David
it isn’t the chip that makse a security seive. It’s the OS.