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Malware Threat Reports Are "Apples and Oranges"
Ant writes "The December malware threat reports are trickling in from vendors — and they all appear to be different. Fortinet, Sunbelt Software, and Kaspersky all published their lists of the most prevalent malware strains for the last month of 2009, but they didn't match up, leading to an admission that users will inevitably be confused by the results. Not only do the various security companies use different names for the threats they identify; they don't even identify the same threats."
I use Linux. Its true that there are some viruses for Linux, its just that I haven't ever had one. When I was in college, the monkey virus (long ago) was the baddie. When I was unfortunate enough to manage windows systems, code red, nimda, I love you and a few others were all the rage. I got real disappointed when they started listing viruses in the ten thousands, then fifty thousands. For Linux, its been in the teens. Mostly root exploits, proof-of-concept stuff, and virii that you have to allow in and set to execute yourself (change permissions, etc). Its possible, but not probable to kill your system with these viruses. Perhaps it is good fortune, but I've never been infected (under linux). I'm not trying to troll, its just that the virus writers don't ever get tired trying to be destructive (mind you, kids come and kids go), and the anti-virus folk always seem to have some kind of real specific remedy, which keeps people buying. Its a bit like homeland security. In order to have a budget, there has to be a threat level. In order to sell anti-virus software, there have to be viruses. Shutting an airport for 6 hours because a man kissed his wife sounds like an over reaction. Its stupid. Its non-sensical. Its someone sounding the klaxon too loud so that the danger-danger-danger mentality and the budget both are accepted. No terror, no budget (or sales). Its a game. I refuse to play. If there are viruses on some system, I use the other. Terrorists always target planes, I use car, or bus or something else. The virus researchers never seem to offer anything all encompassing. Its always piecemeal, just like the homeland security rules. The terrorists always always target at the last hour, so we worry about just the last hour (very piecemeal). A stupid approach if you are trying to solve a problem like terror or security, but a real boon if you are trying to sell software or get a budget passed. Milk it baby! Milk it hard. But please, count me out. It just looks like a pile of crap to me (both). Thanks.
Close to 60% of all US Windows computers are hosting malware already
I thought Windows had a market share that was higher than that! But as we know, 76 % of all statistics are made up on-the-fly.
Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities.
Aristotele