Macs have viruses too. Don't be naïve. The reason PCs have more widespread exploits is because they are more commonly used, and runs most corporate networks these days. Macs don't 'just work'. They fail and have problems too. Because it's a closed system you have less hardware and software that might not interact smoothly. This is both a positive and a negative. Windows XP itself has automatic updating these days so there really is no more additional effort involved. I agree that the Mac is a nice machine, but honestly, it's not an alternative to a PC when you require the applications and interoperability of a PC network in a corporate environment, and the applications simply do not exist for the Mac. Just like I wouldn't suggest giving your receptionist a copy of FreeBSD to get her work done. Yes, worms and exploits are a pain in the ass, and the 14 year old kids don't deserve the attention. Just remember the basic facts: Always keep your critical data backed up. You should never suffer for more than the time it takes to install your software and copy files back in a worst case scenario. Being caught off guard and losing data is always preventable. Secondly, it takes a few seconds each week to update/check for critical updates and to make sure your virus definitions are up to date. A few seconds. Considering the investment in time you put in your car to make oil changes, tire rotations, and checking belts and hoses. If you never did this and your car broke down, I doubt's you'd blame the car manufacturer. Lastly, that vast majority of worms, viruses and such are activated manually by someone clicking on a link or executing code. In the case of LovSan, the rpc exploit does a bit of self installing, so it's different, but in general, it's the user who is wreaking havoc on themselves more so than it's the maliciousness of 'hackers' preying on the unsuspecting. There's no excuse for someone to be unsuspecting now. I wouldn't even call whoever is responsible for this a hacker. They simply lifted publicly available code, added a few lines, packaged it up, and let it go. It was a matter of time, since the exploit has been discussed for three weeks and there have been countless warnings. Nobody in their right mind should have port 135 open anyway, it's for internal LAN network tasks, and any secure network with a qualified administrator would have had that locked down in the first place. XP's built in firewall does a good job of limiting these types of possible exploits. Again, a safeguard is part of the package. You don't even have to look further than the OS. Want to send your bank account numbers to an Argentinean? I guess not. Likewise, don't think every joke and link passed along is safe. Anyway, hope all is well. Been hammered with deadline today at work and so I took a short break with this message. Regards, ---- Mark Schieldrop Reporter, The Narragansett Times mark@schieldrop.net