Apple says Macs need Anti-Virus, I say duh

Courtesy of /. and the BBC, and fresh from the No-Duh desk, we have news that Apple is recommending Mac users use an Anti-Virus program.   Gizmodo reported that they have been recommending this since last year.   The irony is thick when you remember their switcher ad where they said viruses weren’t a problem on a mac.   But the real question is, why is anyone surprised?   Neither Macs nor *nix are immune to viruses, trojan horses, or the like.  They never have been.

Sure, a lot of people have this idea that those systems are either immune or almost immune to viruses.   But, ironically, most people involved in computer security would point out that there’s no reason to believe that.   In fact I think it’s worthwhile to point out that even the current scarcity of viruses and other hostile software for these systems do not prove that these systems are necessarily any more secure than Windows.   It is true that they might be more secure than Windows, but that doesn’t invalidate the need for Anti-Virus software.

So, like I said.  Macs need anti-virus?  Duh. Well–maybe more like should have…