mac

You either love Mac computers, or you hate them. You either adore those "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" commercials, or you loathe them. But what does all of that say about the people who like PCs, and those who prefer computers built by Apple? A new survey ... looks at just that question. The survey of just under 400,000 people was recently performed by social networking-style website Hunch, which asked people whether they used a PC or a Mac and then followed that query with a number of other questions. (Source: pcmag.com ) Mac Users Liberal, Educated, Urban Here's what the survey suggests: Mac users may ... (view more)

Think Macs can't be infected by viruses? Think again. While Apple computers are generally less likely to be attacked by hackers, it's not impossible to infect a Mac with malware (or virus). For years Apple has boasted that its computers are more ... secure than PCs. And they were right -- but that was based on a technicality that only a tiny fraction of the population owned Macs, and thus, there was less profit to be made and less havoc to wreak for hackers. But that's starting to change as the number of Mac owners increases, making for an awkward situation at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, ... (view more)

Amidst reports that threats to Macs are steadily increasing , security firm Sophos is now offering a free version of its business antivirus software to Apple computer fans. It's a pretty good deal: dubbed Sophos Anti-Virus Home Edition for Mac, the ... software comes with no strings attached and will be updated forever (or the foreseeable future). The Sophos software has been adapted from its business roots so that it is easier to install and operate. (Source: zdnet.co.uk ) According to Chris Kraft, Sophos product management vice president, the Mac offering is the exact same model currently being ... (view more)

A well-known Windows virus is spreading to Apple PCs as well. The virus is known as trojan.osx.boonana.a, though it appears to be the same as the so-called Koobface virus which first affected Windows PCs. In both cases the virus spreads through ... social networking sites, most notably Facebook. The virus gets on to computers through bogus messages and one of the most common is some variation on "Is this you in this video?" Clicking the link on this message then runs a Java applet that attempts to download and install the virus. (Source: yahoo.com ) Once installed, trojan.osx.boonana.a (also ... (view more)

A new application allows owners of the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch to run Windows on their portable devices. The catch is that they'll need a Mac computer running an $80 program to do so, though users of previous editions can upgrade for a smaller ... fee. The program in question is the recently released Parallels Desktop version 6. It's virtualization software, which means that users can set their Mac up to act as if it were a PC. This then allows them to install and run a copy of Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7, though technically they'll need the appropriate Microsoft license to do so: for ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced it plans to make the PC and Mac editions of Office 2011 as compatible as possible. According to Kurt Schmucker, one of the leading figures in Microsoft's Mac division, the goal is simple: you should be able to print out the ... same document in Office on both systems, put one sheet on top of the other, hold them up to the light, and not spot even the slightest difference. Mac Excel Gets Sparkling Makeover One example of this is a new Excel feature named Sparklines. This is designed to allow users to automatically produce small graphs and charts that appear beside the ... (view more)

Microsoft has stepped up its marketing by explicitly targeting rival Apple and the Mac. The Redmond-based firm has produced a six-point checklist designed to show the "superiority" of PCs, albeit they're six carefully selected points. In many ... commercial markets the top-selling brand does not acknowledge rivals, while those smaller brands often make direct comparisons to their bigger competitors. Historically, that has been the case with personal computing: while Microsoft has simply touted its own strengths, Apple has run the ongoing "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" campaign. Microsoft Follows Up on ... (view more)

Adobe will today release a patch for a critical security vulnerability in its popular Reader and Acrobat software. The issue was first identified at the Black Hat security conference in July, and has since remained without a fix. Adobe noted in ... early August that the patch would be available this week, well ahead of its next scheduled security release (based on a quarterly timetable) in mid-October. Reader, Acrobat for Windows and Mac Affected According to an advisory from Adobe, the patch is meant to fix a number of critical issues affecting Reader 9.3.3 for Windows, Unix and Mac as well as ... (view more)

Owners of Mac computers will get their first chance to upload Microsoft's newest Office suite this October. It's expected the Mac edition's price will also see a significant price cut, by as much as 50 per cent in fact, in order to keep up with ... similar price drops for Windows PCs. Microsoft announced its plans for Office for Mac 2011 this past Monday, adding that it expected to release two versions of the software -- one targeted at academics, and the other at business users. Business Users Get Outlook Email Client So, what's the difference? Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Student 2011 -- ... (view more)

A new ethical hacking contest, called "Pwn2Own" is set to get under way this coming March 24, 2010, with awards of $100,000 in prize money. Predictions on which operating systems will be first to fall prey to hackers are already being heard; ... according to the event's organizer, the speediest, easiest hack will almost surely be on Mac's new Snow Leopard. Fundamental Beliefs: Mac Vs PC Security For years, it's been said that one of the main reasons why consumers have purchased Macs is because of the popular belief that Mac computers are more secure than PCs running MS Windows. Many ... (view more)