The computer security companies are at it again. This time, the Mac is at fault for being immune to Windows problems and being able to pass them along.

"A senior executive from a leading security vendor has warned that Apple Macintosh computers pose a potential threat to the security of networks because of their ability to harbor infected files that only attack Microsoft Windows systems and lax security practices from Mac users," Stan Beer reports for IT Wire. "According to the Asia Pacific marketing director of McAfee, Allan Bell, although security attacks on Mac OS/X systems would become more prevalent, many Macintosh users are not as vigilant as they should be. Lax security practices on Macintosh machines may enable Windows viruses to incubate on their Macintosh hosts and later infect Windows machines on a network."

"An issue (Macintosh) users need to be aware of is that in some cases they can be a carrier - effectively a Typhoid Mary," said Bell. "That is because you can have infected files on the Macintosh that do not infect the Macintosh but at a later date those get transferred across to a Windows machine which they can infect. Macintosh users still need to be scanning for Windows viruses to make sure that they've got clean files and don't have infected files that they can pass on," Beer reports.

Bell also said: "It's possible to secure and scan all files that are coming across to the Macintosh at the gateway. If you're running a dual boot system, make sure you've got adequate security on the Windows side of that system. It's just a matter of making sure you are security minded... In the dual boot situation, when they're booted into the Windows system, they are just as vulnerable to attacks as is the average Windows user."

Firstly there is the issue of generalization. What exactly is Mr. Bell basing his "lax security practices" statement on? Is there a statistic out there that details the percentage of Mac users that are fully up to date on all updates, and how does this compare to the percentage of Windows users that are up to date? How about older operating systems? How many Mac users are there running pre OS X versions, and how many are there running pre Windows 2000? Are we talking about facts, or are we dealing with vapor?

Furthermore, since when is it the responsibility of Mac users to protect Windows users? Why should people who buy a Mac have to spend money and computing resources to run anti virus software that gives them no benefit whatsoever, since they are totally immune to begin with? And even if Mac users did blow their own resources away trying to keep Windows users safe, wouldn't they be using the same software that the Windows users would, and if so, wouldn't this be redundant because the threats would simply be eliminated by the Windows user?

If McAfee's Asia Pacific marketing director, Allan Bell, were really interested in "public health" he would be talking about offering a free version of their software for the Mac, and charge the Windows users extra to pay for it… it's for their benefit anyway. However, if Mr. Bell is simply trying to spread some F.U.D. in hopes of nailing some sales among Mac users, he has another thing coming.