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A Digital Crime Wave
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2005 08:04:31 -0400
------ Forwarded Message From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com> Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2005 01:18:23 -0400 To: <undisclosed-recipient:;> Subject: A Digital Crime Wave April 2005 A Digital Crime Wave By WALTER S. MOSSBERG THE WINDOWS COMPUTING PLATFORM is in a genuine crisis. Windows computers are being attacked, every day, by an international army of digital criminals who seek to spy on users, turn their own computers against them and deface, corrupt or destroy their data. There have long been computer viruses, but until the past couple of years, they were mainly a nuisance. Now they have grown into a serious problem-by one account there were 5,000 new Windows viruses discovered in the first six months of 2004. And the virus plague has been trumped by a new type of malicious software, spyware, which can track your activities, bombard you with unwanted ads, even steal your identity. Spam has also grown exponentially, clogging e-mail boxes and carrying with it malicious software. For some people, e-mail has become a curse. And that's not all. Every minute of every day, hackers using automated software scan the Internet looking for computers vulnerable enough to invade and, in some cases, to surreptitiously take over. Without your knowledge, they can turn your computer into a "zombie" machine rigged to help them spread their nasty viruses, spam and spyware. So for consumers and small businesses - everyone without a large IT department to manage security - the Windows computers they use have become huge burdens instead of helpful tools. If you do get a severe virus or spyware infestation, you may have to spend hundreds of dollars and many hours to wipe your hard disk clean and start fresh, quite possibly losing crucial data in the process. And prevention is almost as painful as the disease, because the computer industry has so far come up with only half-baked and piecemeal solutions to these threats. You have to watch every move you make online and install a bunch of security programs, which require monitoring, constant updating and, often, annual fees. Each of these security programs deals only with a narrow slice of the problem. Firewalls can keep out invaders, but they don't stop viruses, spyware or spam. Antivirus programs don't catch most spyware. Antispyware programs don't stop viruses. And neither stops spam. For that, you need anti-spam software, which does nothing about viruses or spyware that invade your system through avenues other than spam. You can buy "suites" that combine all these programs, but they are really just bundles of separate applications of widely varying quality stuffed into the same box. It's as if you needed a separate burglar alarm system, each with its own control panel, password and monthly fee, for every door and window in your home. What users need is a simple, all-encompassing security service that would deal with all these threats with minimal user involvement. For now, though, you'll have to do it yourself. So here's my quick guide to Windows security measures. Some of the products I recommend below are free, but others cost money. I like free stuff as much as the next guy, but I don't believe security is an area where price should govern. You don't want to entrust your computer's security to some unknown software author, or even to a well-meaning individual or very small outfit that lacks the resources to keep up with the threats. ... http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/report-200504.html ------ End of Forwarded Message ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- A Digital Crime Wave David Farber (Apr 15)