Is Mac OS better protected against Malware than Windows?

A common example that my friend Sharukh gives about his Mac is the superior virus protection. He boldly claims that while most people around him are worried about viruses and other malware on their systems, he is immune. While there aren't many Mac users around here in India, but there sure is merit in this claim. So why is it so that Mac users feel so secure? Is Windows really that bad?

Firstly lets acknowledge the fact (no I don't love numbers, but they always show up): Windows still has a 91%+ market share in the OS market vs the Mac's 7.x% (source). What I want to highlight here is, with a 91% market share Windows has been the prime target for all malware's. Its just a side effect of popularity (Disclaimer: I am no Windows fan). Security loop holes in WinOS gets a lot of air and bad publicity due to the operating system's popularity, but then since the number of people working on/using Windows is many times more than the MacOS there are good enough chances that security flaws will get discovered early. Its not that Mac hasn't seen any malware yet. Just we hard of some new ones. But again two facts 1) Malware aimed at Mac won't affect the masses, so there isn't too much effort to make any for them. 2) Many of those Windows aimed viruses are ineffective on the Mac. So whenever I transfer a file from my friends Mac on to my PC, I have the antivirus buzzing really loud lol.

I was lucky to discuss this topic of OS security with Jon Hall during the IIT TechFest, and I what he said quality of the OS doesn't lie in how secure it is, its about how soon can they patch a exploit that has been discovered. Apple systems including the iPhone are gaining more and more popularity each day. And probably the time has come that it faces the challenges that Microsoft has been facing since ages. So As the MacOS now gains better market share and fan following, I would be interested to see how well they tackle these issues. Afterall no system, and I repeat: NO SYSTEM IN THIS WORLD IS 100% SECURE - neither mine, nor yours!