DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

My younger brother called recently to ask for advice on eradicating a virus from his computer. I couldn’t help him very effectively, because I have not used Windows (except in emergencies) since… let’s see… 1992. I was a power-user of Windows 286, to be sure, but I recovered quickly.

Anyway, on the phone I felt compelled to say, “If you’re tired of screwing around with viruses, you could always ditch Windows and buy a Mac.”

“What do you mean?” he asked. “Can’t Macs get viruses?”

He really didn’t know. He’s a couple paragraphs from finishing his Ph. D… he’s so smart he can find meaning and significance in the least rewarding movie I’ve seen all year. He once wrote a scholarly essay on my band’s debut CD that, even if it didn’t move any inventory, at least sounded like something that might show up in downbeat.

… Among the Babylon of culture there are significant works of art, literature and music. One such is the compact disc WANT, the music of a San Francisco band who seem to be busy at the marginality of super-hype and over-success…

And yet he didn’t know that 99% of all viruses target Microsoft Windows.

I thought everybody knew this — that to use Windows is to accept daily virus attacks in addition to the frequent critical security patches. But I guess it isn’t common knowledge after all.

Macs can, of course, get infected by viruses, but for the most part nobody bothers to write them. Virus authors want to see their work spread quickly. Therefore they’re unlikely to target a platform that is used by ~5% of the population. Windows is simply much more efficient at propagating viruses than any other OS. (They should print that on the side of the box.)