Symantec Steps in It

Poor Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC). Not only does it have to contend with competition direct from Mr. Softy himself, but it can't even get a little love from the Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) crowd. It may be cut off for good.

In fact, I'd be surprised if Symantec ever sells a single product to a single Mac user again. You see, Symantec had the cheek to suggest that Mac's OSX operating system may not be completely flawless. I'm as shocked as you are. Steve Jobs, fallible? Get me my gun.

True, Symantec has a vested interest in selling its security products, and any report aimed at scaring customers ought to be viewed with some skepticism. But it's also true that the Mac's mythically bulletproof security benefits from the same kind of relative obscurity that made Mayberry so safe. Yes, Andy was a fine cop, but on the other hand, with so little potential for payoff, there isn't a lot of incentive for criminal elements -- like hackers -- to try to drop by. Especially when Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows continues to make for such easy pickins.

But none of this holy war matters much to investors. No matter whether you believe that Mac attacks will rise in proportion to the platform's growing popularity, or you believe that it's impossible for Macs to have any security flaws -- quite a popular viewpoint on the Internet these days -- one thing is certain: Mac fans are intensely passionate, to say the least.

Whether that makes for a good investment or not depends on how well Apple can continue to extract money from the pocketbooks of its expanding pool of zealots. Given the ease with which Cupertino can persuade iPod shuffle buyers to shell out $30 for an elastic armband -- which every other maker of MP3 players offers for free -- I'm betting that Apple shareholders will see plenty more of what the last few quarters have delivered: big sales and profits.

For related Foolishness:

• Isn't it nice how Steve Jobs works for nothing?
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• Overpriced elastic strips are just one way Apple hopes to keep margins high.

Seth Jayson considers that annoying little QuickTime background program to be one of the toughest pieces of spyware on his machine. At the time of publication, he had positions in no company mentioned. View his stock holdings and Fool profile here. Fool rules are here.