Quote:
Originally Posted by chav1
ime afraid hackers will tend to target anything made or supported by micosoft , its usualy linux usuers that have a stick up their bum because they have some misplaced feelings towards bill gates and microsoft
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That's slander that it
Actually Chav mate it is rarely Linux users who write viruses as they are more inclined to developing our own OS. The people who write viruses fall into two camps, The script kiddies who crave fame by causing as much hardship as possible usually with no financial gain or the scammer who is interested in financial gain only. The former write stuff that is as visible as possible whilst the latter write stuff that you wouldn't know you had.
The reason Microsoft are such a target comes down to several reasons. Firstly the Operating system is inherrently insecure. It does not seperate execution from opening. Most people run their PC whilst logged on as administrator. This allows malicious code to do anything it wants. Its security model is based on security through obscurity and being driven by feature-rich development at all costs. This inevitably leads to 'holes' in the code which are a wide open door for viruses to gain entry. Linux is open source, all the code is available for anyone to see. this way any possible holes are quickly spotted and fixed. The usual turnaround from an exploit to fix in Linux is normally a day. Another often used claim is that the target market is larger. If the success rate of your key logger is 0.0001% then you need a massive market to get good return. It also helps that the users of this widespread system are in general not that security concious. Whilst this is an argument that is often used by Windows supporters that Linux will become more targetted as its use increases it is not bourne out in reality. The vast majority of Web Servers run Apache on Linux. Yet the vast majority of hacks are against Microsoft's product (IIS)
Quote:
Originally Posted by chav1
anyway thanx for the tip with the recent splurge of viruses hitting the net it would be a good idea to set your firewalls to check for updates every day
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Nolt just firewalls. People should be aware that Internet security on windows comes in many forms, Anti Virus, A Firewall, Spyware, Malware, and good old Common Sense.
Whilst the first 4 will stop most things the last one is most important. Don't open Emails from people you don't recognise. In fact don't even use Preview mode as this will lead to increased levels of spam as the preview loads a small image that in effects logs your email address as valid and in use. It is then sold to other spammers.
Never click a link if you aren't 200% sure it is what it claims to be. Examples such as adding buddies in MSN, Security notices from your Bank/Ebay/PayPal etc. Don't expect everything you download over P2P to be what it should be. That DVD of Bambi may be a different kind of nature film.
Ian