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使用Macintosh电脑可减少病毒困扰

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Switching to Macs Can Help Users Avoid Hassle of Viruses

There's no other major item most of us own that is as confusing, unpredictable and unreliable as our personal computers. Everybody has questions about them, and we aim to help.

Here are a few questions about computers I've received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about switching to a Mac to avoid viruses, "wiping" a hard disk and airport scanning machines.

If you have a question, send it to me at mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg's Mailbox.

Q: These virus attacks rather spook me and I am tired of installing all the patches for Windows XP. So, I am considering changing from a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion to an Apple computer on the theory that the Mac system is not as vulnerable to attack as my Windows system. Would this make sense?

A: Apple's Macintosh computers can be attacked by viruses and worms and can be the targets of hackers, just like Windows machines. But Mac users rarely have to worry about this because the vast majority of hackers and virus writers choose to focus their criminal efforts on the predominant platform, which is Windows. There are occasional security patches issued for Apple's OS X operating system, but they are much less numerous and frequent than the patches for Windows.

So, if you are tired of all the patches and of worrying about viruses, switching to a Mac could bring you great relief. You will be able to read and hear all the stories about Windows viruses without worrying that they will affect your computer. Even if you receive an e-mail containing a Windows virus, it can't harm you. You should still be prudent, however, and use an antivirus program.

One caveat: Switching to a Mac won't protect you from spam e-mail or pop-up ads on the Web. You should still use an e-mail program, like Apple's Mail, or Microsoft Entourage, that includes junk-mail filtering, or a third-party antispam program written for the Mac. As for pop-ups, there are special pop-up blockers for the Mac, or you can use Apple's new Safari browser, which has a built-in pop-up blocker.

Q: I have an old computer that contains a lot of personal financial information as well as a lot of genealogical material. I want to donate the old computer to a charitable organization. However, before I do, I want to delete everything on the old one in such a way that the data can't be recovered. Can you tell me how to do this?

A: You need a specialized program that can "wipe" your files. Regular file deletion doesn't truly remove the contents of your files from their locations on the hard disk. It merely frees the operating system to use that part of the hard disk again, if the need arises. But a file "wiper" repeatedly overwrites parts or all of the hard disk with nonsense data, obliterating the contents.

There are a number of file-wiping programs to choose from, but perhaps the best-known product in the category is Window Washer, a $30 program by Webroot Software (www.webroot.com). In my tests, it was easy to use and effective. And Window Washer has numerous other capabilities, such as erasing all traces of where you've been on the Internet and what files you've been using.

Q: Is it OK to send the memory cards in my digital camera through airport scanners? Is it safe to have my iPod scanned at the airport?

A: I'm no expert on the specifics of the airport scanning machines, but I have sent my iPod and my camera's memory cards through scanners dozens of times, at numerous airports here and abroad. They have never suffered any ill effects from the process.
使用Macintosh电脑可减少病毒困扰

在我们大多数人所拥有的大型电器中,没有什么比个人电脑更令人费解和难以捉摸了。每个人都有一堆关于电脑的问题,而我们将为您提供解答。

以下是我就最近读者提出的一些电脑问题所做的解答。为了便于阅读,我对问题稍微进行了一些编辑和重述。本周,"莫博士信箱"专栏的问题包括:更换成Macintosh电脑后能否免遭病毒攻击、如何清除硬盘数据以及有关机场扫描仪器的问题等。

问:最近的电脑病毒袭击著实让我提心吊胆,而且安装各种Windows XP操作系统的补丁也让我非常厌烦。因此,我正在考虑把惠普(Hewlett-Packard)的Pavilion机型换成一台苹果电脑,理论上说Macintosh操作系统不象Windows那样容易受到攻击。这样做有道理吗?

答: 苹果电脑公司(Apple Computer)生产的Macintosh电脑也会被病毒和蠕虫袭击,也可能成为骇客的目标,就象使用Windows操作系统的机器一样。但是,Macintosh电脑的用户很少需要担心这一点,因为绝大多数骇客和病毒制造者选择把他们的犯罪活动集中到有影响力的平台上,那就是Windows操作系统。苹果电脑的OS X操作系统偶尔也发布安全补丁,但他们发布的数量和频率远远少于Windows。

因此,如果你对安装补丁感到厌烦而又担心病毒的话,那么换成Macintosh电脑可能会让你大大松一口气。当你再读到或者听到关于Windows病毒的消息后,你将不用担心它们会影响到你的电脑。即使你收到一封包含Windows病毒的电子邮件,他们也伤害不到你。当然,你仍应该保持谨慎,继续使用杀毒程序。

但是有一个警告:换成Macintosh电脑并不能使你避免垃圾邮件和网络上的弹出式广告。你仍需要使用一个电子邮件程序,象苹果电脑的Mail,微软(Microsoft)的Entourage等,他们包含有垃圾邮件过滤器。你也可以使用其他公司为Macintosh电脑开发的垃圾邮件过滤程序。至于弹出式广告,Macintosh电脑自带特殊的弹出式广告过滤器,或者你可以使用苹果公司的Safari新浏览器,里面内置了弹出式广告过滤器。

问:我有一台旧电脑,里面有许多个人的财务信息以及大量有关家族的材料。我想把这台电脑捐赠给一个慈善机构,但在之前,我想把这台旧电脑里的所有数据以一种不可复原的方式删除,您能告诉我该怎样做吗?

答:你需要一个特殊的程序才能清除所有的文件。通常所用的删除文件的方法并不能真正地把文件内容从硬盘上它们所在的位置上清除掉。这种操作仅仅是释放了操作系统的空间,让你在需要的时候能再次使用那部份硬盘空间。但使用文件清除程序将能重覆地以无用的数据覆盖那部份硬盘空间,或者整个硬盘,从而清除掉你那些文件的内容。

目前有很多种文件清除程序可供选择,但也许最有名的产品就是Window Washer了,这个由Webroot Software (公司网址www.webroot.com) 开发的软件售价30美元。据我的测试,这种程序易于使用,而且很有效。Window Washer还有许多其他功能,比如说清除你在国际互联网上留下的痕迹,以及消灭你曾使用过的文件的痕迹等等。

问:能让我的数码相机里的存储卡通过机场的扫描仪吗?在机场我的iPod通过扫描仪安全吗?

答:我并不是精通机场扫描仪器所有细节的专家,但我曾经带著我的iPod和照相机里的存储卡通过机场扫描仪有十余次了,包括国内的很多机场和国外的机场。在这个过程中,它们从来没有受到任何不利的影响。
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