Can Macs Get Viruses?

[MiamiPhish]

I've heard that Macs can't get viruses, which I have a hard time believing.  When I asked a friend why she thought Macs didn't get viruses, she said because there are so many more PCs, hackers don't have any interest in hacking Macs (something along those lines, anyways.) 
That can't be true, can it?
And does 'viruses' include spyware and those kinds of bugs?

[gene]

thats what i heard...
i use windows and linux
I havnt gotten a virus that i had to manually touch in since i got forced to use vista (direct x 10)
With XP in the past ive dealt with countless trojans, viruses, loggers, ect. Ones that were easy, and ones that took hours.
but with vista im finding myself dealing with less, i honestly cant remember getting out the old programs i used to use in xp to attack those viruses.
ya i know vista sux, i use it for gaming. i use linux when im bored and non gaming.

But you might wanna ask one of the many macheads around here to verify...

[rowjimmy]

http://week4paug.net/index.php?topic=10618.0

[jedifunk]

short answer... yes, mac CAN get viruses.

but do they?  no, not really.... as stated above, at this point its still not worth it for hackers to make them for macs.

beyond that however, the mac os is very stable and pretty darn secure... yes there are still small holes in the defense system, but not many.

i personally have been using macs for over 15 years and have yet to get a virus, trojan horses, spyware, etc.  i don't use norton, or macafee, or any other virus scanning software... and i just don't worry about it.

besides... if you're smart and pay attention to what you're doing, and don't open things that you have no idea what they are, you too should never get a virus

[Declan]

i have pc, no viruses, no anti-virus program

same with mac

[jedifunk]

see... its all in how you pay attention... if you don't download or open, or install things that you have no idea what they are, you're in pretty good shape..


and declan... aston villa?  really?  interesting, never a villa fan... good looking match this weekend with everton though... maybe they can keep pace with the big four and steal a champs league spot this year

[Declan]

b4 i actually was having pc problems and guess what?


i removed Norton anti-virus and no more problems.

What a bunch of fucking crap this program is.

I downloaded something adobe recently and it automatically put norton pc checkup on here.

god damn bastards,

[ytowndan]

Norton sucks ass.  I use a PC and I used to have so many problems with norton, but then I got rid of it and switched to ESET Smart Security.  I turn the firewall off, but keep the antivirus and antispyware features on.  I've been using it for a while now, and have yet to find a problem.