I'm pretty sure the pre System 10 mac had viruses, less often becauase they were not targeted, but they were not necessarily a lot more secure than PC's innately. The current Mac, which runs on a Linux/Unix type system, is not very easy to design viruses for.
It's been so long I'd almost forgotten, but the virus I ran into was actually a Microsoft Word virus--on the Mac.
I agree that there was less targeting. There were also fewer venues for wide distribution. There just weren't that many bulletin boards and such offering Mac software. The ones there were tended to be pretty congenial, and people were going to be warned if something downloaded off a board screwed up someone else's machine. So communication was easier too. There were a number of advantages inherent in running the less popular machines (to balance the disadvantages). I don't think Amiga's ran into many problems either.
I have certainly known of Mac viruses.
Oh, yes. I've seen a Mac virus. It was in, I think, oh...1988.
I'm pretty sure the pre System 10 mac had viruses, less often becauase they were not targeted, but they were not necessarily a lot more secure than PC's innately. The current Mac, which runs on a Linux/Unix type system, is not very easy to design viruses for.
It's been so long I'd almost forgotten, but the virus I ran into was actually a Microsoft Word virus--on the Mac.
I agree that there was less targeting. There were also fewer venues for wide distribution. There just weren't that many bulletin boards and such offering Mac software. The ones there were tended to be pretty congenial, and people were going to be warned if something downloaded off a board screwed up someone else's machine. So communication was easier too. There were a number of advantages inherent in running the less popular machines (to balance the disadvantages). I don't think Amiga's ran into many problems either.