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Rekna, you're right none of them are secure. Assuming otherwise is asking for breaches. But some systems lend themselves more easily to security. By now you've delved into the architectures of Windows and *nix variants. Wouldn't you agree Windows tends to be monolithic vs. modular? Its weaknesses open doors through too many layers, making breaches more severe and making it harder to patch due to dependencies. (My personal hell would be maintenance coding at MS.)
Modern *nix releases have more of these problems from bloated install-eveything-kernels, but they're more easily patchable or isolated without a cascade of failures. Fewer interdependencies.
Whether or not a vendor chooses to patch is another item, and all our favorites have had good and bad days. I believe they're all getting much better at identifying, classifying, and prioritizing.
Also, I agree to a point on critical mass encouraging attacks. Similar to the biology game of life. If it's tough to find another victim among the crowd it's naturally difficult to reproduce. You still need the vulnerabilities, but having a healthy pasture of cattle is important. Mac viruses/worms need to survive longer to find victims and the resulting damage is smaller. Not a prime target for damage or profit even if Mac is your speciality.
As for your parents, I'm guessing they have reasonably safe surfing habits. Family/user personality makes a difference. If clicking the "OK/Accept" button has become a speed sport there are bound to be problems on any system. I've given up on a few cases. Better to give them a Ghost restore DVD to start fresh. Oh, the computing insanity.
As with anything it's the combination that makes reality. MS is at a disadvantage on several fronts. Some their fault, others not.
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There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195
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