Michael Gracie

This isn’t a new idea: ban infected computers from the net. Some Australian ISPs have already done this with zombied computers, and the FTC has pushed for the same.

It is not a bad idea. In fact, I think it is a damn good one, no matter what Microsoft says. Put the responsibility for safe computing in the hands of the user, much like the responsibility one has when behind the wheel. If you are somehow infected through carelessness (or flat out ineptitude), you can continue your work, just within the confines of your Linksys router instead of my hard drive.

According to the latest spyware report from Webroot, adware infections are slowing, and system monitors are becoming more common.

With more and more keyloggers on the loose, and music companies watching what you are listening to, the news from Webroot is none too surprising.

I used to run Linux on my laptop as part of a dual-boot configuration (yes, I kept Windows on there too). Nonetheless, I always felt pretty safe with it, and tested development projects and used the Linux side for data backups, etc. as well. Recently, there has been a lot more talk about malware on the platform, and while I haven’t heard a lot of noise (meaning folks freaking out about it), Mark Rals of Reallylinux.com is coming to the rescue anyway.
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AppleInsider reports that roughly a million Windows users have switched to Mac so far in 2005. Call the report biased, but investment bank Needham & Company was the source, and the news doesn’t surprise me.

While most folks will claim the computer purchases are part of the iPod “halo effect,” a Needham analyst said “a larger than expected percentage of Windows to Mac converts appear to be purchasing Apple’s higher-end systems and that their transition is fueled by the epidemic of viruses and malware on the Windows platform.”

I don’t care for the iPod too much. I’ve owned two that I found less than exciting and subsequently passed on. I did purchase a Powerbook, however, thinking it a bit frivolous at first, and wondering seven months later how I ever went without.

How did we get here?

I don’t love the internet, as it is neither my dog, my girlfriend, nor a human member of my family. I hope nobody else falls in love with it either, or they should find somebody to talk to about their social introversion. But the internet is extremely useful, and it has changed the way we do business, gather news, and organize our daily lives.

It can certainly be a “like”/hate relationship though, and I am wondering how it became so.
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You can blame some of the drug epidemic on gangs, you can blame some prostitution rings on gangs, and you can even (obviously) blame gang violence on gangs. But I don’t get how folks are blaming soaring malware levels on gangs.

Yes, there is more malware (in the form of Trojans and zombie makers) rearing its ugly head nowadays. And yes, more of that code intends on separating someone from their money. But that doesn’t necessarily make it a “gang” problem - it makes it a simple economic one.
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While you have to take some of what was said in this article with a grain of salt (considering the source is an anti-spyware company executive), it does bring up an interesting point.

Adware would not be floating around the net, and penetrating unsuspecting users’ machines (Windows, that is), unless there was money to be made.
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When a new technology hits the streets, the early adopters grab hold. It takes months if not years for it to spread to the mainstream. World changing technologies such as the telephone followed that path, and email is no different. The first email message was sent while I was still in diapers (circa early 70’s, unless I am sorely mistaken), and it didn’t take off outside the world of academia until the 90’s. The threats followed.

Why should the newest communications technologies be any different?
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It used to be that hackers wrote intrusive code only to get recognized amongst their peers. Some did it for the sheer joy, while others did it out of generosity - to warn some sys admin of a vulnerability. Unfortunately, our society has forced the altruistic coders into hiding, and little is left to do with system hacks than steal information.
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The Anti-Phishing Working Group has released their latest report, and the news is not good. It seems that the use of email in phishing attempts is increasing only slightly, but a new trend is emerging: the use of spyware/malware designed for the same purpose.
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