Not really. I am not surprised at all by the report that AOL network harbors the most infected PCs. It only makes sense that if you are so inept at the internet that you have to use AOL as your ISP, then you are probably too clueless to properly protect and maintain your PC. You are the target of most hijackers and phishers because they know you can scam you. Really people, the internet is a dangerous place...if you don't want to take the time to learn how to protect yourself and your family from it...they don't get on it.
I can tell you the number one request I get for help at church and from people at work on their personal machines is how do I clean up this virus-laden, spyware infested piece of machinery. Rarely do I get someone asking me how can I prevent these problems from cropping up in the first place.
I usually clean the machine up one time for them for free and give them an education in the what is happening and why. I try to teach them how to protect themselves. After that, $100/ hour to fix a recurring problem on your machine. If you hit people in the pocketbook, they will maybe learn the lessons and stop being bad neighbors on the information superhighway.
And, no, this is not Microsoft's fault and switching OSes will not solve this problem. All OSes inheritintly will have vulnerabilities. There will always be hacker losers and cyber punks who will invent and create ways to vandalize machines. While all of the major OS manufacturers are working to make it harder to break, there will always be some jerk who is smarter than some engineer who will break it just to say he can. Then, there will always be low-lifes who will rest on the shoulders of the jerk and exploit his genius for their own insidious purposes.
The answer is always, and will always, be end-user vigilance. It takes education, continuing education to stay on top of the security of your PC. Remember, you bought it, you own. It is not your ISPs problem that you can't protect it.
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