The title of an article in this week’s PC Magazine raises the hope that someone there “gets it” when it comes to Macintosh Internet security, but the article itself alas proves the opposite. The only thing going for “Macs Need Security Software, Too” by Lance Ulanoff, is its title. The rest of the article is pretty clueless.

The subhead of the article gets it off on the wrong foot: “Face it, Apple computer lovers, you need protection just as much as the Windows users down the hall.” Although in the specific area the article goes on to emphasize (phishing), this statement may be correct, it’s certainly not when it comes to other forms of malware.

The opening line of the article itself echoes the title, but the words “security software” are in fact a link to, of all things, Microsoft’s Live OneCare product, a subscription-based anti-malware system for, yes, Windows users! You would think the article could have at least linked to a product (or, better yet, a list of products) that ran on the Mac!

The article then presents its central (and actually correct) point, that Mac users are just as vulnerable to phishing and other “social engineering” attacks as Windows users are. It recommends users run Internet security software suites to help protect against these attacks, and then links to an extensive list of Windows-only suites.

The article concludes with “let me say it again, but with a twist: Mac users are not invulnerable.” So its title and last line are correct, and everything else in between is pretty much useless. Too bad.

Oh, and by the way, if the title of the article sounds familiar, try Googling something like “apple security” and check the “sponsored links” on the right hand side!