i don't run windows on any mac of mine, but yeah, i've heard that's a bit taxing. you use your mac to burn cd/dvds. ^_^;;; you don't need secondary programming to do data. at all. just. make your folder of files, and click burn. couldn't be simpler. ^_^ i don't use any anti-viral atm, just trusting mac's closed OS and firefox because the last time i had norton, it was just a pain in the ass. (bad, i know...) macs aren't completely immune.... but they are a LOT better off. spyware won't be much of an issue, and like i said, the OS is a closed system, as opposed to windows being an open system, so it's a lot harder, plus fewer people have macs, so it's not worth the effort for the hackers.

♥ don't panic, awesome.