Mac OS X Security Advantages

I found this ComputerWorld article written by a "switcher" to be interesting. One of the discussed advantages:

For example, one of the ways malware is able to "hide" from users under Windows is via hidden file extensions. Many users aren't aware that even if you tell Windows to display all file extensions, there are still some that are hidden by default. To make matters worse, a Trojan horse or any installed program can reconfigure your extensions so that they are no longer hidden.

Under OS X, you aren't permitted to hide a file's "real" extension if hiding it causes the file to appear to have a different extension. Furthermore, if you attempt to append an extension onto an application's true extension, the true extension will become revealed and you won't be able to hide it.

I'm sure the fact that OS X is much less common than XP has a lot to do with it's being targeted less frequently, but it's hard to gauge how much of its "advantage" is due to that.

All I know is that as an end-user of the OS X platform, I end up spending virtually no time on security issues and have never had an infection other than an Excel virus some years ago. I hear people getting so frustrated trying to clear their Windows machines of spyware and other malware that they end up throwing their computers away and getting new ones. All I can do is shudder.