Mon 24 Mar 2008
Unbelievable Growth of Malware, & Windows XP
Posted by Syd Tash under News
Security researchers say the amount of malware circulating on the Internet has quadrupled in the last two years. Last year alone, a staggering 5.5 million evil software programs were put on the Web.
By comparison, way back in 1990, there were only a few new viruses found each week. This explosive growth has kept security companies very busy indeed, identifying and countering these new threats.
Antivirus programs are becoming much more powerful and sophisticated, to fight this rapidly rising threat. But the criminals and hackers are also improving their product. Malware is now better able to hide itself on your computer, and is updated more often, making it much harder to detect and remove.
One thing seems very clear: you cannot rely on your antivirus program alone to protect you. You must update Windows, use a firewall and practise safe surfing habits. That means not opening spam email or attachments, or clicking on links in these messages, and being cautious which sites you visit. It is called defense in depth, and has proved its worth for years.
In my Tips and articles, I have mentioned that Windows XP will disappear from store shelves on June 30, 2008. This is not entirely accurate. You will not be able to buy an off-the-shelf computer with XP installed after mid-year, or buy a boxed copy of the operating system. However, system builders will be able to put together computers with XP pre-installed, right up to January 2009.
The small corner computer shop also qualifies, and can produce XP-based machines until the end of the year. So if you are determined to avoid Vista, you have a little more breathing room. Finally, in third-world countries where Microsoft offers the XP Starter Edition, this version will be on sale all the way up to June 30, 2010.
Syd Tash is a noted computer security consultant and author of How to Protect Your Computer Online. He has been keeping Internet surfers safe and secure since the last century. Find out how he does it; protect your own computer with five layers of protection right here:
= > http://MyPCSecuritySite.com
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Pingback from » Unbelievable Growth of Malware, & Windows XP
March 24th, 2008 at 5:19 pm[...] Computer Hardware Software wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt Security researchers say the amount of malware circulating on the Internet has quadrupled in the last two years. Last year alone, a staggering 5.5 million evil software programs were put on the Web. By comparison, way back in 1990, there were only a few new viruses found each week. This explosive growth has kept security companies very busy indeed, identifying and countering these new threats. Antivirus programs are becoming much more powerful and sophisticated, to fight this rapid [...]
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Pingback from » Unbelievable Growth of Malware, & Windows XP
March 24th, 2008 at 7:25 pm[...] Computer Hardware Software wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt Security researchers say the amount of malware circulating on the Internet has quadrupled in the last two years. Last year alone, a staggering 5.5 million evil software programs were put on the Web. By comparison, way back in 1990, there were only a few new viruses found each week. This explosive growth has kept security companies very busy indeed, identifying and countering these new threats. Antivirus programs are becoming much more powerful and sophisticated, to fight this rapid [...]
