Which is better suited for machine just to do my financials (banking, purchasing, etc)?

[brgjoe]

I was thinking of getting just a computer for banking/purchasing/taxes, etc. Just one device dedicated to just those purposes.

Which would be more secure for that? And I know I am on a Mac-centric site, but there are a lot of people here who are a heck of a lot smarter than I am. So am asking this question: Which is more secure for my purposes, a PC that has Windows 11 in S mode (and it will STAY in S mode because of this) or a machine with the most recent MacOS?

I am leaning towards the Mac since Apple designs all the hardware/software itself so there would be less chance of some exploit from the outside. And there are more malware released for the PC since there are more PC's in the wild. Anyway, would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

 

[mystery hill]

An iPad or iPhone would be more secure than a Mac or Windows PC.

You will be able to do everything you've listed on an iPad.

 

[Thirio2]

The only problem with an iPad is software availability. If you want to use tax software such as HR Block I don’t think they have a version for iPads. I would recommend a base mini if you have a monitor or a base MacBook Air if not. I agree that iPhone and iPads are slightly more secure but if you only use it for financial transactions and stay off other websites you should be Ok.

 

[dmr727]

I would look at security less about the platform you choose and more about your actual habits. Buy quality hardware with an OS that supports the software you plan to use. An iPad is a great and easy choice if it supports everything you need to do, but both Windows and MacOS are perfectly fine if you're being smart about your security.

 

[Fishrrman]

What applications will you be running?

If we're talking about Excel, Numbers, etc. -- any Mac will run those, even in the basic configurations.

I don't really do "online banking", but I'm going to take A GUESS that all you need for those is a web browser.

Taxes... I'll guess that nothing special is needed to run apps such as H&R Block (tax software) or TurboTax, etc. Don't know because I still do my taxes "by hand" using spreadhsheets that I created for myself -- still print out pdf IRS forms and mail them in via U.S. Mail...!