OT: Software Recommendations

[geoschmo]

It's not that other types of operating systems aren't vulnerable to viruses. For a virus to spread it has to be able to go from an infected system to one that is vulnerable and available. Windows is everywhere. It's used on millions and millions of computers, and the majority of the people using it aren't competant or interested in taking the time and effort to secure their systems. Other operating systems are way less common, and for the most part less-idiot friendly. So the majority of people that do use them will have the knowlege and take the time to keep them secure.

Also, the people that write the viruses are doing so in an effort to make an impact. If you want to make an impact you write a virus for an operating system that people actually use.

When other operating systems are used, they do get hacked. This might involved writing trojans or other code that we would classify as a virus. But it ususually doesn't spread like a virus for the reasons above. It's typically part of a direct and isolated attack on a specific network or system.

Could windows be made more secure. Certainly. Would doing so make it less user-friendly to the majority of idiots who use it? Definetly.