Throughout the computer age, many Mac users have taken on a superiority complex regarding their computer versus those who own Windows PCs. After all, there have only been about 100 known Mac viruses. Compare that to the known number of Windows viruses (way over 100,000) and you can see why a Mac owner might cop an attitude.

Unfortunately, before a Mac owner rides off on his or her high horse, it’s important to know that the traditional viruses aren’t really the problem for Mac or Windows users any longer. The villains now are malware and ransomware. (Technically, ransomware is a subset of malware but for this discussion, we’ll keep them separate.)

Mac computers are vulnerable to malware and ransomware just like their Windows counterparts. In fact, there are currently several wicked ransomware products causing tons of problems for Mac users. Part of the reason this is happening grows out of the misconception that Macs don’t need virus/malware/ransomware protection. As for malware (rather than ransomware), in 2019, infections on Macs outpaced infections on Windows machines about 2 to 1.

Whether you’re a Mac or a Windows computer user, about 99% of malware relies on one major fact – the weakest link when it comes to the computer is the user (see my post – The Weakest Link) and their tendency to fall for social engineering.

If you’re a Mac computer user/owner, please make sure you are using third-party protection. We use Malwarebytes on our Macs and suggest you do the same.

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