2) I specifically said by percentages!  Of course there are a lot more Windows Users because Windows users represent around 80% of all computer users, but I also pointed out that many infections are due to user error.  So the percentages of infections are expected to go up with a larger user base.  So doesn’t change anything when you factor the actual OSX user base and compare it percentage wise to Windows user base.

Basically, if there were as many Mac users as Windows users then the infection rate would already have been in the millions.

3) I’ve used both Macs and PC for over a decade so get over yourself!  This has nothing to do with pro/anti anything.

The Mac vs PC commercials were mostly total BS.  The Macs I used crashed a lot because I used them for work!  And no OS is immune from attack!  OSX has some advantages over Windows and Windows has some advantages over OSX… neither is perfect! 

When it comes to security though, Windows has been through the gauntlet and developed resistance while OSX has for too long relied on not being a target and not really bothered much with security.

In fact Mac’s are usually the first systems hacked during hacking competitions.  Especially when compared to the Enterprise version of Windows that’s much more secure than the consumer version.  It doesn’t help that when attacking a crowd of users Macs actually stand out as easy to identify targets. They’ve just relied on not being a target as the primary protection for years but that changes as they started getting significant size user base for making a more tempting target for hackers and scammers. 

While it was according to Tweets from Ivan Sorokin, a malware analyst at Russian antivirus company Dr. Web. that stated the growing botnet has infected over 600,000 Macs with 274 bots located in Cupertino, home of Apple.  The count is considered pretty official since the Trojan “actually sends
a copy of each infected Mac’s UUID to the command and control server.” Sorokin used sinkhole technology to redirect the botnet traffic to his company’s own servers to count infected Macs. Also other security companies have verified the results.

Many of those infected users are probably not even aware they’re infected because many of these attacks don’t advertise that they’ve installed themselves or not.  This particular one is a click fraud type infection…  In other words… They want your money, not to cripple your system!

As mentioned before you practically have to go through the Terminal and type or copy and paste commands to even figure out if you are infected or not.  Even older Macs that get bogged down and run slower than usual don’t always get noticed.

Also as mentioned before the number is still growing!

So stop with the denial, no OS is completely secure and OSX is even more vulnerable than iOS.

If the number of Mac users increases next year then that’ll just prompt even more regular and more sophisticated attacks and Mac users are way behind on being paranoid enough to avoid a large portion of attacks that don’t even have to target the OS vulnerabilities.

Being in denial just will make it easier for you to be attacked because you don’t believe you’re vulnerable when you are!

In 2009, the US Government estimated the Conficker root kit worm was infecting between 9 million and 15 million Windows PCs . . . and is STILL infecting millions today, with no end in sight (report as of six months ago) and no easy removal method. . . and still no known purpose for the worm.

Since I posted my original reply to you, I have been surveying various forums and news sites… and have YET to find a comment out of hundreds of postings from someone reporting a first hand account of being infected with the Flashback Trojan that I did not suspect as being a anti-Mac troll. I found two who claimed to have been infected but both used language that smacked of being unfamiliar with Macs (one called his computer a MAC) and were troll like in their comments (the second stated that he had bought his Mac because of the “I’m a PC. I’m a Mac” series of commercials and how they convinced him Macs were immune from viruses, and how he was now so disappointed his “Mac has a virus that his next computer would be a Windows 8 system!”). That’s IT! No other users reporting finding an infection even where they were provided script tools to easily check their Macs. Lots of “My computer’s clean!” but not one “Oh, darn!” Even the comments on USA Today had not ONE claimant of an infection. 

Where are all the infected Macs? Others are starting to notice the dearth of infected Macs that are supposed members of this massive botnet and asking “Where are they?” All I am hearing are crickets!

Sorry, my mistake as my source wasn’t for world wide, but the point is still valid.  Even with a infection rate of close to 1%, OSX install base is still below 70 million (assuming rough sales figures actually represent total number of users as many, especially in businesses, just use multiple systems…), compares to one of the worst Windows infection of 0.7% by Conficker in 2009.

Even going by your 0.85% still makes this a worse for percentage rate infection.  While even if it wasn’t it should still be a wake up call.  Windows is of course a much larger user base but many of these infections take advantage of user error and the larger the pool of users means the larger chances of infection, especially with a user base that’s less worried about such attacks.

While the point of a lot of these infections is the users are usually never aware as most are designed for identity theft and other ways to steal from people. 

It’s not always about defacing and crippling systems, or otherwise making the users notice they’ve been infected but illegal profiting.

Mind it’s especially hard to tell if the system has no AV or similar to even notify the user of something being amiss. 

One tutorial for checking systems for infections for example asks users to use the Terminal…  something not all Mac users even know how to use.  So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that not many are reporting, especially if the attack doesn’t do much of anything but steal information from them and by the time they notice that then it’s already too late.

Where did you get that bogus number? 

The installed base of OSX Macs is approximately 70,000,000. The infection, if real, is only 0.85% of that installed base, less than 1%. What I find amazing is surveying the forums, is that you don’t see people reporting they are infected… I’ve seen TWO, so far, out of hundreds of posts I’ve read on the subject. That is very strange. Apple Mac users are usually very vocal about things that are wrong with their products. It simply isn’t happening here. 

Though as you say iOS could become a victim of its own success as its growing popularity makes it a bigger target and thus attracts more and better skilled attackers.  While OSX is still less of a target but has more vulnerabilities and may get some of those attackers attention as well, especially if they keep adding more iOS features into OSX or worse merge them to create a combined market OS for them to attack more easily and with better profit for attackers looking for the most bang for their effort with the combined user base they could then go after.

The infection is over 600,000 and they’re still getting reports of new infections even after the updates.  While regardless it still represents about (Edit – Just less than 1%) infection of the Mac market.  Remember there are about 8-10 times more Windows users than Mac users and iOS isn’t part of this issue.  So it may seem small but it’s still a significant number when compared to the total number of OSX Mac users. 

This isn’t even a new Trojan, they just updated one that had long been in use to take advantage of the security flaws and there are plenty more where those came from.

While more importantly, no security can protect against user error and the false sense of security that many Mac users have leaves them more vulnerable to making mistakes like typing their passwords and log-in details in what looks like a official Apple pop-up request.

No OS is immune from attacks, it’s time Mac users realize this or learn the hard way that relying on not being a target is not actual protection but just leaving yourself open till you do become a target.

Apple can do better.  It is unfortunate that iOS is so popular.

So you could run as a non-admin, install AV, or not enter your password when prompted and you don’t know what’s prompting it.

I will say though that I’m disappointed it took an outbreak and media attention to get Apple to plug the hole. A hole they’ve known about for 2 months. That’s pretty unacceptable.