Working World

There was a time when Macs and PCs couldn’t stand one another. From sharing a Word document to networking, their operating systems refused to co-exist. Not so anymore.

Today, if a Mac or PC user writes a Word document and passes it on to the other, the user can reasonably expect that the formatting, fonts and look will be the same. PowerPoint and other presentation materials such as video, music and photos can be accessed and viewed by a Mac from a PC or vice versa without having to do any special formatting or extreme operating-system-specific changes. This bodes well for the integration between the two computers, except for one big problem: security.

Viruses and malware — which affect, damage or intrude upon the user through the data being held on the computer’s hard drive — are the biggest risk when Macs and PCs work together. True to the commercials, a Mac is less prone to such problems, but this in and of itself is dangerous. The Mac user can easily pass on a virus-infested Word doc or PowerPoint presentation without even knowing the problem exists. How? Because the virus does not target the Mac’s operating system, making it “invisible” to the user.

Besides ongoing vigilance and a common sense approach, there are some specific things that both Mac and PC users can do to avoid integration problems.

Mac users should routinely screen Word documents for macro viruses before sending them to a PC. You can do this by having Word to warn you when a document contains a macro, which you can then avoid altogether by copying and pasting the text into a new Word doc.  

Mac users should also run anti-virus software. These can detect and eliminate viruses and malware. Windows users must have anti-virus/anti-malware protection in place or you're sending out an invitation to disaster.

Connecting Macs and PCs will no doubt continue to thrive in the future, but unfortunately so will cyber criminals. PCs, like Macs, need to use up-to-date anti-malware software so that both sides of the connection can remain safe. Take care of this and the presentation will take care of itself.   

Marshal M. Rosenthal is a technology maven with more than 15 years of editorial experience. His work has appeared both domestically and internationally in publications such as Home Theater, Electronic House, eGear, Computer and Video Games and Digitrends.