Apple computers still offer a safe refuge for users looking to evade the onslaught of online threats, security vendor Sophos advised in a Security Threat Management Report.

The first malware for Apple OS X surfaced earlier this year, but the operating system has stood its ground, Sophos claims.

OS X malware "has not spread in the wild and not heralded an avalanche of new malicious code for Apple's operating system", the security report stated

"Hackers remain happy to primarily target Microsoft Windows users and not spread their wings to other platforms. It seems likely that Macintosh will continue to be a safer place for computer users to be for some time come."

However, the security vendor was less optimistic about the forthcoming Windows Vista.

Malware writers will have to reassess their techniques because of changes in the operating system, but that will not stop them from targeting the software.

"It may just be a matter of time before the bad guys learn enough about Vista to build rootkits or other malware with the equivalent degree of stealth capability," said Sophos.