Some have implied that Macs are safe from Viruses or Worms; thus they are secure or nearly impervious. While I like their enthusiasm, I think they are being a little too optimistic; so some cynical realism is in order.

First, we need to understand the terms. A computer virus (or worm) is a self-replicating program or something that “spreads” and makes copies of itself without permission or the user even knowing about it. These programs “infect” other programs, documents or the system, so that in the future accessing those files will run the virus and spread it even more. Thus a computer virus inserts itself into the users computer or on other programs, like a real virus would invade your cells. Like other life forms, its primary purpose is propagating the species and survive.

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