"OS X is designed differently from the ground up—applications and user programs don't get as 'involved' in the base OS as Windows," said author Richard Forno, the former chief security officer for Network Solutions.

Out of the box, only SSH is enabled on OS X and, upon starting, users must create an account and password. Root access for applications is discouraged. By comparison, Windows systems ship with most services enabled.

"Deploying a Mac environment means you're not running around with daily software updates or responding to incessant viruses and worms. That alone will save significant sums and staff headaches," said Forno, who noted the same goes for Linux and BSD boxes.

Complete entry