momus_98
join:2002-09-10
Pflugerville, TX
kudos:1 | It's 3rd party, stupid! Based on completely empirical observation, I'd say that the main vulnerabilities aren't viruses, but 3rd party exploits or phishing attempts.
In all my years of computing, the one and only attempt on my machine was a malicious Javascript file. Java, as in Sun Micro's Java plugin!
To be sure, in the old days, drive-by installs were common with IE5/IE6 and ActiveX, but I daresay that IE7 does a much better job at protecting the novice user. So more attempts are made against 3rd party plugins such as Quicktime, Flash, Shockwave or Java.
Moreover, phishing is a much bigger problem I think, because it is amazingly easy to hook a victim. In the last few weeks alone I received email supposedly from Chase Bank and eBay; I was spared because I do not have accounts with either merchant. But, even if I do receive an email from my mortgage company or bank, I never click any links in the message body. I navigate directly to the site using previously bookmarked links.
Finally, for those unwilling to pay for A/V software, most ISPs these days provide such software for free. You pay them to provide your connection, they also offer free A/V software. Take advantage of it.
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"War does not determine who is right; only who is left." - Bertrand Russell
"Patriots always talk of dying for their country and never of killing for their
country." - Bertrand Russell |
