I don't spend ANY time on removing viruses or spyware. If you have a good virus-scanner, there is absolutely no need to do all those things. So, if your only consideration for getting a Mac is to avoid virusses and spyware, think again. That should not be one of your dealbreakers.

There are many other reasons to choose either a Mac or a standard PC, (Mac is more styled, the de-facto standard for graphic design, etc, PC is cheaper, extendible, and is better at playing games)

I use AVGFree, a freely available virus scanner, which is light, complete, and updates very frequently. Personally, I consider it better than many for-pay scanners.

Virusses apart, I DO re-install Windows from time to time, (about once a year), and that's because it becomes sluggish when installing and de-installing many applications. This is partly my own fault, as I experiment a lot with it. Then again, a reinstall costs be about a day, including backup, installing Windows, Office and all other programs I want on it.
On the other hand, my PC is infinitely easier and cheaper to expand. I regularly buy new equipment like harddrives ( I now have five drives totalling 2,5 TB, using RAID etc) a TV card, etc, and it all fits, works with plug-and-play and is cheaper than any Mac equivalent.

As you can see, I am a PC adept. I like to make modifications to it, and love its flexibility. A Mac just doesn't allow that. A Mac really has its virtues (and some other answerer will undoubtedly mention those), and the choice is yours. Just don't think a Mac is going to be cheap.

Oh, here are some nice pictures I found. Just for laughs...
Permalink | Report

No. Unless you are a wreckless surfer. And don't follow common sense about downloads and firewalls.

In the Pwn to Own competition the mac was hacked first.
Source(s):
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/27/pwn-2-own-over-macbook-air-gets-seized-i...

Permalink | Report

For the average non-geek user who does not take precautions and is hence prone to malware and spyware, your contention is right. You will spend more time and potentially lose time and data on a PC than on a Mac.

On a Mac even if you have a malicious .exe saved on your disk it will be benign. There is practically no virus made for PC that will do any damage on a Mac. None of the leading anti-virus software makers have a Mac version. Doesn't that tell you something?

Still, spyware and malware are not reasons to buy a Mac over a PC. If you work in areas where there's better software for a Mac than a PC, you chose a Mac. Like video, graphics, sound, photography (to some extent), a Mac gives you an overall better computing experience.

The non-expandibility and non-upgradability is a myth. Get a MacPro and you have exactly as much flexibility as a comparable HP workstation. And plug and play and networking on a Mac is much easier for the non-geek.

Besides Macs are more environment friendly. Exactly like the bicycle vs motorcycle comparison shows. This bicycle will get you there reasonably safer and yet not pollute the environment.
Permalink | Report

I use all sorts of computer platforms. Macs are worth it for MANY reasons, most of which have nothing to do with spyware or viruses. These are an issue even if you ARE careful, it is still easier to infect a Windows machine, and antivirus/spyware degrades performance.

Let's take some examples. Many of us actually upgrade or replace our machines periodically. Let's say you upgrade the hard drive on your laptop,

On a Mac, once you move your files over from your backup, things work.
On Windows, Windows will refuse to authenticate. You get to call India, read off 64 digits, and try to convince some random perspmn that you are not a thief.

Let's say you get a new computer. Mac has an automated Migration Assistant to move everything over, but, if you are old school like me and elect to do things manually:

You drag and drop your applications to the new machine - and they work.
On Windows, the hooks are deep in the registry, apps will not work if you move them, you must reinstall them.

You want to buy a second computer. Apple has very inexpensive family packs for their OS and apps (iLife, iWork). Microsoft is just beginning to do this, and the prices aren't nearly as attractive.

There are tons of other timesavers, the ability to burn ISO images, to print PDFs from any application, the multiple desktop feature Spaces, etc.

It does depend on how much your time is worth, but the argument that all computers are pretty much the same simply won't stand up in terms of ease of use and the OS helping you rather than getting in your way.
Permalink | Report

While folks will often say that Mac's are easier to maintain... they're not. Those folks just don't know about disk imaging. But don't get me wrong, I use a Mac every day and love it!

Here's what I do...

There is a full How To about this here: How To Back Up Your Computer Hard Drive. It has full instructions and even some videos showing exactly how to set this up. The guy who manages that page is a sexy beast, isn't he?

I bought Acronis True Image awhile ago for $10. They often run deeply discounted sales. They also have a free trial.

Acronis will save an "image" of your hard drive. You can restore that image at any time. Some folks call this "ghosting".

So, if you get a virus or have any sort of problem with your evil Windows PC (although it will work with Mac's too)... you simply press the F11 key when your computer is booting up and like magic, in 20 minutes, your computer works perfectly. The image that you saved earlier will be restored.

The only secret to this whole trick is to backup your documents, favorites, and other important files. For that, I use SyncBackSE. It's free. It will automatically copy those files wherever you want. Personally, I copy mine to a separate partition on my hard drive (local backup), to a NAS drive in my office, and also on the Internet. In other words, I don't loose files.

With this strategy, you'll never have a problem. If something (anything) weird happens, if your computer slows down, or whatever... you just press F11 and wait.

Easy peasy.
Permalink | Report

I use a Mac-Mini for iPhone application development and throwing on the occasional movie for background noise. I use my PC for all other forms of programming, gaming, web surfing, movie-watching, and even Photoshop.

I reformat my PC's HDD about once per year, as a type of Spring cleaning (not to remove viruses/spyware.) A careful user will rarely, if ever, infect their PC with spyware or viruses. PCs are like a loaded gun with the safety off - without the proper training, it's easy to shoot yourself in the foot. Macs have more safety nets, so it is more difficult to make critical mistakes, but the lack of expandability, high price tag, lack of enterprise-scale engineering software, etc... make the Mac a fancy media machine at best.

In the end, the money saved by purchasing a PC is just that - money saved. Viruses, trojans, and spyware are almost always a direct result of unsafe user habits, not the inherent vulnerabilities of a particular operating system.
Permalink | Report

Macs typically cost more than a comparable PC. Though PCs are more susceptible to viruses because they are the dominate platform, some basic computing practices will keep you virus free. I have used and support PCs and Macs my entire life, and those who follow these practices have not had any issues.

1) Install a quality anti-virus program. AVG offers a free antivirus which I have used myself and for others for years (http://free.avg.com/). Microsoft will be releasing their own free anti-virus product called "Microsoft Security Essentials" (http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/) by the end of 2009. I am currently beta testing it, and this will be the free anti-virus of choice when it is released to the public as it is a high quality product.
2) Use a firewall. Since Windows XP SP2 and higher, the firewall is turned on by default and they work quite well. Household routers also act as a firewall. Vista and Windows 7 are much more robust in security over previous operating systems.
3) Don't install junk. Free screen savers, desktop buddies and the rest, stay away from them.
4) Don't go places on the internet you should not go. You know what I mean.

Following these computing practices and you will stay virus free on your PC and save you money over your lifetime.
Permalink | Report