Computer Security Still Totally Inadequate

[Scarecrow Man]

Symantec has attacked the perceived security advantages of Firefox and Apple Macs by drawing unfavourable comparisons with Microsoft's software and describing Mac fans as living in a "false paradise". According to the latest edition of Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report, 25 vulnerabilities were disclosed for Mozilla browsers and 13 for Microsoft Internet Explorer in the first half of 2005.

...Even MORE disturbing...

Malicious code threats to privacy and confidentiality increased rapidly in the first six months of 2005 - up 48 per cent on the back half of 2004. Virus writers upped their production lines to release 10,866 new Windows virus and worm variants in the first six months of this year, Symantec reports.

...

Instead of releasing a wide range of functions in one program or file, virus writers are beginning to create modular code to avoid detection. Once installed, modular malware first tries to disable antivirus software and firewall protection and then trieas to download other pieces (or modules) of code from compromised computers across the internet.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/19/sy..._threat_report/

It is beginning to improve, but at the moment computer security is rather basic and mostly reactive. Systems fail absolutely rather than degrade. We are still in a world where an attack like the slammer worm combined with a PC BIOS eraser or disk locking tool could wipe out half the PCs exposed to the internet in a few hours. In a sense we are fortunate that most attackers want to control and use systems they attack rather than destroy them.

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/20...2/alan-cox.html

As many of us have said before; an Anti-virus and Firewall does not make you bullet proof. The only way to be 100% safe is to unplug your network. :o

In the second article, Alan Cox also mentions EROS: The Extremely Reliable Operating System which claims to be the most secure OS to date.

[-pops-]

All the more reason to have an up to date backup of your system.

[andsome]

I really would love to understand just what these idiots get out of this.