"And as a FreeBSD/Linux guy, I am pretty sure M$ is to blame for a big part of the internet lack of security." What a dumb comment. 95% of desktops run Windows, so the vast majority of virii, trojans and malware is written for it (it's not Microsoft's fault, they don't write the Virus, getit?). If Linux was on top, they would have just as many problems, unless you're saying that Linux is intrinsically secure (I doubt even you believe that)? Consider as well that a lot Windows users run as Administrator (a lot of software used to be written in such a way that it would ONLY run when you were Administrator - lack of security awareness was a problem across the eco-system, not just at Microsoft) and you will start to have a whole host of problems. To be fair on Microsoft, security wasn't on their radar until widespread adoption of the Internet came around. Now it is; Vista and 7 are pretty secure, as long as you don't switch off UAC and run your account as an administrator (people complain about UAC and want to switch it off - it's really not a problem once your installation settles down - you only use it occasionally). Again, there are thousands of people out there hunting down and finding gaps in Microsoft product security. Those same people would no doubt create merry hell on the Linux Desktop if that was the dominant OS. Now, I haven't been hit by a Virus since I ran Windows 98. Anecdotal evidence I know, but some of us intuitively know when something "isn't quite right" - and usually don't click the link or run code until we've done a little research. I try to teach friends and family the golden rule: if you don't know what it does or don't trust it does what it claims to do, don't run it. In practice that covers 99.9% of stuff that could be a virus or trojan.