Viruses: More Hype than Danger?

blankmange writes "CNN is carrying a story on how the big virus scares within the last year or so have been just that: scares, usually hyped by the media with software companies standing by to reap the profits. 'The market for computer security is booming as PC users become more aware of the need to protect themselves from worms and viruses. "Code Red" hit the headlines in July last year, with dire predictions that the PC worm would cripple the Internet. Yet in the end, Code Red didn't even make the year's virus Top 10.' PDAs are the next marketing target, along with cellphones."

Comments

code red is hype?

[jred]

It's a good thing that Code Red was such a flop. Considering the # of hits my apache server gets every day from CR/nimda, I'd hate to see what would happen if it were still around.

Code Red

[Aragorn DeLunar]

As I hold a delicious red caffienated beverage in my hand, I can't honestly say that the Code Red scare was all bad. :)

The envelope please...

[bckspc]

The "Top 10 for 2001" they are referring to are listed here.
En español aquí.

Funny, they all seem to have something in common...

Misnomer

[Anonymous Coward]

What is a "PC" virus? These are virii that affect Microsoft platforms. They should be labeled "Microsoft Virus."

Re:Scares are enough

[Binky The Oracle]

Agreed.

After all, "just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you."

I'd mod this guys post up to 5 !

[bushboy]

Exactly,

DUMB COMPUTER USERS

Fact is, 99% of the world fit that category.

There was an article about designing UI's few days back and all I could think about was my financial partner who has to be told how to minimize a window every time.

The kinda guy that uses a remote email connection to send 10meg word documents to the person in the office next to him, even though all he needs to do is to send locally in 1/100th of the time.

The marketing-type person who leans over your shoulder when your computing and says to a client :-

"You know, these machines are amazing !"

Yeah - you should see the user jump through hoops of fire !

And we worry about virus problems being over-hyped ?

Screw the viruses,

I can see the headlines now :-

"Dumb computer users seen as the biggest risk to computer security."

"Symantec announces the anti-dumb-computer-user fix"

Re:Was the CNN author a Systems Administrator?

[Anonymous Coward]

> "But I swear I didn't open that attatchment" To which I would reply, "The computer must have MAGICALLY sprouted hands and fingers and opened the attatchment itself, oh don't forget it also typed in your webmail username and password for you too"
...
&gt ;I dunno, being jobless all this time has made me realize a few things.

Like, "don't insult your coworkers if you want to stay employed"?

Re:Scares are enough

[tenman]

Stool,
I like that story much better, and this is turning out to be a nice little thread here. Sorry to hear about the carpet guy (I'm glad to heat that you sleep with a gun now, I was getting worried about your habbit of sleeping with blowup sheep dolls. [j/k]) I hope the the apartment chick was cute and was into you rimming her. Also, I've never tried to walk around with my pants down, but your right, nothing has ever happened to mr be back there.

I want to thank AC for pointing out the difference in deface and distroy. His/Her examples where right on target, and let me know that defacing an object does not mean to make it completely unusable. Two thumbs up to him, except where he called me a wise ass. I didn't enjoy that part, but as it turns out, he might be right.

sit back and enjoy the rest of your day and thank you for flying NorthSouthern Airlines.

Don't worry, the industry's improving

[dachshund]

One line of code could make the few hundred thousand of computers infected last year dead, rather than popping up a cute little message.

One line of code? With Microsoft Visual Basic .NET you can do it with only half a line! With SOAP compatability.

the media can scream "fire" all they like

[not_anne]

It takes an actual (not threatened) disaster for people to actually care about disaster preparation.

Among the many other hats I wear, I'm the antivirus/worm/trojan/etc. person at my work.

About a month before Nimda hit last year, I'd written strict guidelines to how our company should safeguard itself against viruses. The president, who needed to approve the document before I sent it out, stated that the rules were too strict (don't open attachments you're not expecting/from people you don't know, etc.) and that since he wouldn't follow them, nobody else should either. He ordered me to edit the document so that it was more "friendly" and so I reluctantly rewrote it, and then emailed it out.

Lo and behold, Nimda hits the following month, and it's all over the media by the time I get to work. We were immediately infected with this thing before I even got to work (along with two major clients), all due to the lax guidelines I released the month before. Ironically, our president himself was the one to clicked on the Nimda .exe and subsequently infected all of our computers. It took me all day to fix the carnage left by Nimda.

After I was done cleaning up Nimda's mess, I dusted off the strict version of my virus guidelines, and demanded that it be implemented immediately. It was made policy, and since Nimda, we have thwarted every other virus attack that has knocked on our door.

Unfortunately, I derived very little satisfaction from saying "I told you so" and smiling smugly into our president's humiliated face.

Re:Was the CNN author a Systems Administrator?

[LadyLucky]

There's no enjoyment in a job where you have to put out fires for 200+ people a day because they're too fucking stupid to figure out simple shit for themselves

Dude, if they could, you wouldnt have a job. Oh wait...