This is why you should patch or have a firewall!
http://www.techweb.com/wire/security/54201306
The lifespan of a poorly protected PC connected to the Internet is a mere four minutes, research released Tuesday claimed. After that, it's owned by a hacker.
In the two-week test, marketing-communications firm AvanteGarde deployed half a dozen systems in "honeypot" style, using default security settings. It then analyzed the machines' performance by tallying the attacks, counting the number of compromises, and timing how long it took an attack to successfully hijack a computer once it was connected to the Internet.
The six machines were equipped with Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1), Microsoft Windows XP SP1 with the free ZoneAlarm personal firewall, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, Macintosh OS X 10.3.5, and Linspire's distribution of Linux.
Not surprisingly, Windows XP SP1 sans third-party firewall had the poorest showing.
"In some instances, someone had taken complete control of the machine in as little as 30 seconds," said Marcus Colombano, a partner with AvanteGarde, and, along with former hacker Kevin Mitnick, a co-investigator in the experiment. "The average was just four minutes. Think about that. Plug in a new PC--and many are still sold with Windows XP SP1--to a DSL line, go get a cup of coffee, and come back to find your machine has been taken over." ..........
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Kiggundu Mukasa # Computer Network Consultancy###
KYM-NET LTD. # Intranets & Internet Solutions#
Plot 80 Kanjokya Street
P.O. Box 24284 Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256 77 972255
+256 71 221141
Fax: +256 31 262122
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