(Column) – When you install a new operating system, everything on your computer tends to feel a lot fresher. Even though some of the stuff on your hard drive may be several years old, a new OS gives you a revised way to use that information. Since installing Leopard, this fresh feeling has extended to the way I view viruses and other assorted software and Internet vulnerabilities on OS X. I never really had a problem in this regard on Tiger, and now that I’ve upgraded to Leopard, everything feels even more secure. I trust the advancements of OS X and its good track record to keep my computer safe, but perhaps I shouldn’t feel that way.

Now that I’ve installed Leopard, I suppose it’s time to reevaluate my stance on virus protection for the Mac. In the past, I’ve been against installing antivirus software on OS X simply because I saw no need for it. It makes sense to take precautions, but when there aren’t any serious threats, does it really matter? Of course, some would say that it’s better to be safe than sorry, and I can understand that line of reasoning, too.

As we’ve seen, the amount of security threats that are out there for any given operating system reflects the amount of users who are using that OS. Windows certainly has the biggest piece of the pie, and therefore, the biggest slice of the problems. Virus writers, hackers, and other nefarious individuals want to cause problems for as many people as possible, so it only makes sense that they would spend the majority of their time targeting Windows users.

iPhone Competitors: What’s The Point Now?

In turning our attention to OS X, it’s clear that Apple’s operating system is quickly increasing in popularity, and while its market share may not ever come close to that of Windows, the general perception is that it’s more popular among its users than Windows is, which could be a sign of bad things to come from virus writers. On the other side of that coin, the fact that there aren’t many threats for OS X in addition to the fact that Mac users are so smug about how safe they are presents a challenge for these people, and you can’t help but expect them to make some serious moves sometime soon.

Symantec has released a new version of Norton Antivirus for OS X that fully supports Leopard, but while their Windows offerings may be popular, I just don’t see this Mac version becoming as big of a hit for them until some real and significant threats are lurking around out there. With Norton Antivirus, Symantec prospers off of other people’s misery, and viruses and other security threats just haven’t made me miserable in any way on OS X.

I’m sure there are some Windows users who have and who will make the switch to OS X that will just assume that they absolutely have to have virus protection running on their Mac because that’s the way it was on Windows, but it’s time for these people to understand that they made the switch for a reason, and after some further evaluation, I’ve decided to keep antivirus software off of my Macs… for now.

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