Will Bill Gates controlling interest be gone from Microsoft before Vista is actually released, what with his announced step-down and all ?? Regards, Russ Preston
On Jul 6, 2006, at 7:05 PM, Jeff @ SLYN Systems wrote: > Analyst's Prescription For Security Ills: Get A Mac > By Gregg Keizer, TechWeb.com > 4:01 PM EDT Wed. Jul. 05, 2006 > > A 29 percent increase in a tally of malicious code motivated a > security vendor Wednesday to recommend home computer users head to > Apple Computer Inc.'s Mac to avoid attack. > > In its semi-annual report on the state of the security landscape, > U.K.-based Sophos noted that the total number of pieces of malware > detected by its anti-virus software jumped to 180,292 by the end of > June 2006 from 140,118 the same time last year. The vast bulk of them > target Windows-based computers. That, and a dramatic increase in the > ratio of Trojan horses to other malicious code, gave the company's > analysts advisory ammunition. > > "You have to wonder if you're not knocking your head against a wall" > using Windows, said Ron O'Brien, a senior security consultant with > Sophos. > > Macs aren't immune to vulnerabilities, he added, but exploits > continue to be rare against Apple's operating system. Even the > February disclosure of the first-even "zero-day" flaw in Mac OS X > wasn't enough to galvanize hackers. > > "It's a matter of hackers being behind the curve on the Mac," said > O'Brien. "The storm of 'iViruses' targeting Macs never materialized, > and for the time being it seems Mac can still safely say it's a safe > alternative for computer users." > > According to Sophos' data, worms and viruses e-mailed in massive spam- > like attacks are a thing of the past. In the first six months of > 2006, only 1 in 91 e-mail messages carried a viral payload; that's > substantially down from the 1 in 35 ratio posted in the opening half > of 2005. > > A corresponding jump in Trojan horses has more than made up the > difference, however. Trojans now outnumber other types of malware by > a 4 to 1 margin, said Sophos' report. In the same period of 2005, the > ratio was just 2 to 1. > > Another notable piece of information gleaned by Sophos was a > continued fall in the average number of computers targeted by each > attack. > > Taken together, the numbers reinforce security professionals' long- > held belief that attackers are dumping large-scale attacks for > smaller, targeted assaults that rely on Trojan horses to deploy large > quantities of information-stealing spyware. > > "There are different tiers of criminality" that can be assigned to > Internet attackers, said O'Brien, and the top group "doesn't want to > be known." Instead, these criminals rely on small attacks, pinpricks > relative to past worms such as Sober and Netsky, to reap financial > windfalls. For the most part, those attacks are launched from botnets > of compromised computers, often by criminals who have "leased" the > machines from the actual hacker. > > "Month to month, there is a direct relationship between the increase > in Trojans and the number of zombie PCs," O'Brien claimed. > > But although Sophos steered home users toward the safer Mac, it > didn't tell everyone to ditch Windows. It took a wait-and-see > attitude toward the upcoming Windows Vista, for instance. > "Vista will probably force malware writers to re-assess the > techniques they are using for both regular malware and rootkits," the > report stated. > > "Vista is going to be more of a hurdle than an actual obstacle" to > attackers, O'Brien added. He was certain that dedicated hackers would > find a way to replicate their current tactics against Vista. > > The OS, which has been delayed several times -- most recently when > Microsoft announced in March that Vista would not appear in volume > until January 2007 -- has been touted by its Redmond, Wash. developer > as the most secure Windows yet. > > Sophos agreed while it bemoaned the postponement. "The delay is bad > news for security-conscious computer users as it incorporates a > number of new features which should harden the operating system > against attack," said the Sophos report. > > The Sophos Security Threat Management Report can be downloaded as a > PDF file from the company's Web site. > > Jeff Slyn, Owner > SLYN Systems & Peripherals > (502) 426-5469 > http://www.SLYNsystems.com > serving Kentuckiana clients 7 days a week since 1985! | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will | be July 25 at Pitt Academy, 6010 Preston Highway. | The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. | List posting address: <mailto:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu> | List Web page: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup>
