Hi Sandman.
Welcome to the site.
I have to admit, it takes guts (I'd use another word, but Magnus wouldn't like it
) to walk into the lion's den.
I like that.
But the guys here are all nice, so I wouldn't worry about that.
First of all, lets get things straight.
If you are afraid of risking your data, then do get data.
Data, just like any asset is coveted.
And it doesn't take a computer to lose it.
Kevin Mitnick (known as one of the best hackers ever) is best with Social Engineering.
Which is about manipulating people, not computers.
Macs are not immune to computer problems.
A good way to think of this is to think of an athletic person vs one that isn't (smoking, junk food, no exercise, etc...)
The healthy person will get sick (and eventually die) but not as frequently as the other person.
A common debate here, and in all Mac circles, is that we forget this and strut around like Superman.
And it is this attitude that would cause so much damage that wouldn't be there if they were simply cautious.
There is also the point that not as many people know how to attack Macs.
Imagine two 1x1m door being rammed down.
On the first there is 1 person trying to ram it down.
On the second there are 100 people.
Which is at greater risk?
Keep in mind they both have the same vulnerability, that 1x1 door.
How vulnerable is OSX?
Well on a timeline since 03, data shows that the average of 6% of vulnerabilities remain unpatched.
6%!!!
But if you look at how that compares:
Vista: 8%
XP: 14%
Suddenly 6% doesn't look so bad.
So how dangerous are the patches?
OSX: extreme 5%, high 34%
XP: extreme 4%, high 34%
Vista: extreme 4%, high 40%
How many give system access?
OSX: 20%
XP: 52%
Vista: 39%
Also, software on Macs is better written. I still don't know why, but it is.
So buggy software doesn't happen much.
And the platform makes sure that it doesn't hit as hard.
The Unix backbone, for example, ensures that each process requires separate authorization.
So the fact that you have logged in as Admin doesn't authorize you (or processes posing as you) to run amuck.
I hope you will try Macs.
I'm sure if you give it a fair chance, you will love it.
Microsoft Windows Vista - Vulnerability Report - Secunia Apple Macintosh OS X - Vulnerability Report - Secunia Microsoft Windows XP Professional - Vulnerability Report - Secunia