It wouldn't surprise me either, but the point is, they
are there.
EDIT: Just for fun, here's the
Security section of the
Microsoft Windows article on Wikipedia. Hopefully it will help illuminate my point a bit better.
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Originally Posted by Wikipedia
Security has been a major weakness of Windows for many years. Due to the widespread usage of Windows on desktops, many crackers (also known as Black Hat hackers) have targeted Windows rather than the lesser used operating systems such as Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, and FreeBSD. Additionally most modern operating systems were designed for security in a multi-user and/or networked environment and have a relatively small number of security issues. Windows was originally designed for ease-of-use on a single-user PC without a network connection, and did not have security features built in from the outset. Combined with occasionally flawed code (such as buffer overflows), Windows is a continous target of worms and virus writers. In June 2005, Bruce Schneier's Counterpane Internet Security reported that it had seen over 1,000 new viruses and worms in the previous six months.
A study conducted by Kevin Mitnick and marketing communications firm, Avantgarde, found that an unprotected and unpatched Windows XP system lasted only 4 minutes on the Internet before it was compromised. The AOL/National Cyber Security Alliance Online Safety Study of October 2004 determined that 80% of Windows users were infected by at least one spyware/adware product.
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