Kaspersky’s latest survey highlights a protection gap between macOS and Windows based devices.
While macOS has long been regarded as the more secure operating system, 12% of its users reported malware infections compared with 9% of Windows users.
Moreover, only 35% of macOS owners install dedicated security software, versus 42% of Windows users.
According to Kaspersky’s latest survey*, Windows users report a higher adoption rate for most security measures, while macOS users show a modest advantage in a few privacy‑focused actions.
At the same time, during the past year macOS users reported higher percentages than Windows users for a number of cybersecurity incidents.The largest gap in cybersecurity approaches appears in the habit of not opening suspicious emails or links, with 62% of Windows users following this practice compared to 51% of macOS users.
What’s more, when it comes to cybersecurity software installation, macOS users are also lagging behind. While among Windows users 42% reported using digital‑life‑protection software, for macOS this rate is only 35%, what Kaspersky security experts call a worryingly low figure.It is noteworthy that 12% of macOS respondents said they fell victim to phishing (fake emails, websites or messages) over the past year compared with 9% of Windows users.
Moreover, during this period macOS users faced more scams and investment frauds (16% vs 13%), privacy violations (11% vs 8%) and thefts of personal data (12% vs 7%).
To counter these specific threats, robust anti-malware and anti-phishing protection is essential. Malware authors put a lot of effort into developing new, more powerful and stealthier versions of stealers, spies and other classes of malicious payloads, while relying on phishing techniques that allows them to get access to user’s data.
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