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By Gregg Keizer, TechWeb
15 March 2005
09:07AM
Mr. Keizer reports in as follows:
" ... defences against spyware are ineffective, according
to a survey"
We note that this sad news came at a time when spyware had already become a virtual epidemic.
We are happy to report-- at least according to our anecdotal
evidence -- that spyware seems to be much more under control
these days. It appears less rampant, and programs to keep it
in check and/or remove it have improved, as well.
This does not mean you should lessen your vigilance, however.
http://www.pcauthority.com.au/news.aspx?CIaNID=18269
Another piece by Mr. Keizer appeared in the same periodical,
Australian PC Authority, in March 2005:
By Gregg Keizer, TechWeb
17 March 2005 03:06PM
"At least a million machines are under the control of
hackers worldwide," this article quoted German computer
security experts.
Again, as we saw time and again, the vulnerable computers were
running Windows Operating Systems.
But we're going to go out on a limb here. Now that Macs are
becoming more and more popular, and overtaking school classrooms
as they once did (in their infancy), they will become more vulnerable,
too, to "evildoers."
Our reasoning is as follows:
If someone wants to invest time in creating a software weapon
that will cripple a computer or two, that person wants to see
maximum impact when the attack is unleashed and the malware
is set free to prowl the internet. Now the same effort - more
or less- must be exerted to create a bug that will attack a
PC as a Mac. But if 80-90% more machines are put out of commission
with a Windows attack, it would make sense to target that OS.
As Macs become more ubiquitous, they will fall prey to the same
kinds of attacks.
It's more a function of human nature than of operating system
holes. (Unless, of course, Bill Gates has left an opening in
Vista you could drive a truckload of servers through...) As
the Good Book says: You should never place a stumbling block
in the path of a blind man.
http://www.pcauthority.com.au/news.aspx?CIaNID=18286
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