eli5: Why do computer operating systems have lots of viruses and phone operating systems don’t?
In: 5085
Windows xp is a big part of this misconception today. It was built during the infancy of the internet and before security was a big concern. Then, people stayed on xp for waaaaay to long.
The other part of it is that most big viruses go after the money… Meaning businesses. Meaning pc’s.
But really, one of the main reasons is the app stores. There’s a lot of big money there. Phones are locked, so you can only purchase apps from Apple or Google. Meaning that apple and Google get full access to the app to verify what it does before it’s published. People accept this on their phone, but will not accept this on their computer. The computer is set up that you can install anything you want, and people (mostly businesses too) would likely mob with torches and pitchforks is you didn’t allow them to install what they want. Couple this with the fact that most people ignore admin permission window and always click agree… And you have an issue.
Now… Xp, was a different beast. Since it was built before much of this was a big problem… It simply did not have many of the protections we think of today, as most of those concerns… No one really thought of.
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