It is not a false sense of security. OS X is inherently more secure than Windows, and it has nothing to do with market share. OS8/9 had a smaller market share than OS X does now and there were several hacks and viruses affecting that OS version.

When it comes to keyloggers, you are currently 100% safe on a Mac. There are none for OS X.

If someone gets your info from phishing (much like the Paypal phishing story going around.), then it comes down to common sense or lack-thereof. If your account is hacked, it isn't because you are on a Mac. You could have been on Linux or Windows and the same thing would have happened.

@Chad

To quote a Blizzard response to this claim: "I would have to disagree on this. There are keyloggers for OS X it's just that they require you to enter an admin password to be installed on the system. There are however no known keylogger trojans."

No one says they *can't* exist, it's just that they *don't* exist. Simply put, there is no malware on OS X. No keyloggers, no viruses, no worms, no trojans.

Even if such a program was written, the user would have to allow it to run, give it their password, wonder why whatever it is *needs* their password, etc. It would be a whole hell of a lot of social engineering to do it, and thus far, no one has done it. Plain and simple. Let me reiterate - NONE.

The permissions system on OS X is also much more secure by design and default than XP, and much better implemented than Vista. It's nearly impossible to use Vista with UAC and WoW, especially if you want to use add-ons. Nevermind the constant and numbing "this program wants to do this, click proceed" (yeah, yeah, click, click, whatever).

Find me a *single* story of a WoW account getting hacked on a Mac where the person did not give out their credentials. Good luck with that.

In before the great Mac vs. PC debate...

However, I'm not taking sides (especially since I've never used a Mac for great lengths of time), but thinking that you're completely safe on ANY computer is a bit naive, in my humble opinion. Don't think that because you're on a Mac (or Linux for that matter) that nobody can get to you. Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean that it won't in the future.

The whole "Macs are immune" thing is so much BS. Yes I understand that The OS has a better security system. Awesome. But not only can good security not stop idiots from downloading and installing viruses, the only real reason that Macs have stayed remotely safe is the lower user base. If Mac and Windows switched places, this argument would be going the other way. If you are going to write a malicious program, you are going to do in a manner that hits the most amount of people, and that means Windows.

Take the Iphone for example. Thats an apple product, running a version of their "secure" OS, yet as soon as it came out, people we making viruses for it, because they knew everyone would get one.

All it takes is a large user base and you are in trouble.

i use a mac and I've had no problems with hackers, key-loggers, pop-ups, viruses, email-spam, weight-gain, headaches, itchy kneecaps or anything.
Well most of that is accurate... occasionally my kneecaps itch.
Point is, I've had no problems with my iMac. Nothing malfunctions ever. My PC at the office is breaking down weekly. Since I use both I'm going to offer my humble advice to anyone who wants to avoid viruses. Get a Mac.
There, that's my two-cents. Tear me apart.

The reason people think they are so safe is because of the number of people that use macs. It's so low it's not worth the effort to write the programs. The more and more people that claim to be immune, the more and more people swap to macs and the more and more attractive they become to exploiters... gotta love the cycle.

Love your Mac? Let me sell you a car. It's absolutely beautiful, will never get stolen and won't break down. Problem is there's no space for an engine or wheels. It does however have a radio, but it only gets AM. Oh and it's slightly better for visual designers (ok the metaphor falls part there).

Bottom line: Firefox + NoScript, never ever ever let anyone else ever log onto your account at any time for any reason and never log onto your account on a machine that isn't yours no matter how much you trust the owner. Also, don't be a gold-buying, power-leveling asshat.