So, the assumption that is made by almost all of the doomsaying articles linked above—and thousands I didn't link to—is incorrect. There is no magic number of Macs, above which they suddenly become less secure. There is instead a protection that is offered by Macintosh market share. The actual point at which a larger market share becomes dangerous depends entirely on the nature of the threat.

As Macs are built on many of the same technologies as the iPad and iPhone, it is that the rapid rise of iOS devices exposes Macs to new vulnerabilities. But until an actual exploit is in circulation, this is simply a conjecture that falls somewhere between "aliens are killing cows in Montana" and "global warming will submerge Manhattan in 2050." It's my opinion that beachfront property in Pittsburgh might be a good buy-and-hold strategy, but there's still considerable debate about how the proven of ocean surface rise will play out in human-impact .

There’s a second flaw in the Macs-are-vulnerable argument: the oft-repeated notion that Mac users believe their Macs are immune to attack. This is mentioned in both the McAfee report as well as the coverage.

I beg to differ, on the basis of overwhelming—and purely anecdotal—evidence. As a Mac consultant, writer, and generic "known expert" to a bunch of folks in my community, I regularly field questions about Mac security issues. This demonstrates a general understanding that A) security issues exist on the Mac and B) people are curious enough to ask questions. No one has ever asked me whether a cosmic ray can crash their computer—although it can—or if their MacBook can come to life overnight and raid their fridge. Mac users do seem to assume they're safe from death rays and late night Mac snack raids, otherwise, I'd be asked about those threats. If people ask me about malware—and they do—I take that as proof that they don't assume they're immune.