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Thread ID: 54404	2005-02-11 10:14:00	Why do PC users put up with so many viruses and worms?	Safari (3993)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
323965	2005-02-12 00:31:00	Metla - the link Murray posted is lengthly but you should read it as it gives a good insight into Windows Systems and might give you food for thought.	Safari (3993)
323966	2005-02-12 00:35:00	eh? Its tiny. And please refrain from ever telling me what i should do. laughable. Yes, I laugh. At You. Often.	Metla (12)
323967	2005-02-12 00:49:00	hmmm....Was looking good untill you mentioned Volvo as a matter of style and taste........ Im still reeling from that, Volvo drivers being the equilivent of a Mac zealot. Yeah, I had Porche in there at first, there's nothing very aesthetic about a Volvo, but I wanted to push the safety angle. If you like (and want to take this seriously), just ignore that bit and think about living in Remuera instead of Eketahuna, nah that doesn't work either. Maybe it is just a matter of style and taste then. Would not the owner of a Lada with a racing stripe be a better analogy??	Murray P (44)
323968	2005-02-12 01:26:00	Murray your analogy, although interesting, does not make sense. You cannot hope to compare computer platforms with micro-organisms and human biology. Computer systems are created by man and inherently flawed....ALL computer systems whether they be based on Windows, Linux, Mac whatever. I see how my original post must have seemed a little polarised, however focus on the bigger picture. I was trying to point out that there is a far greater target base and therefore greater temptation for virus writers to attack the systems with the most users. If 90% of the world's computer users were running Mac's then it would be a sure bet that virus writers would turn their attention to searching for and exploiting faults in Mac OS. The Mac OS is not perfect, it crashes and has security patches released to fix holes (admittedly no where near as many as windows - but issues all the same) just like any other operating system. My point is don't be so cocky as to think you are running a completely secure system just because you don't run windows. :rolleyes:	Sb0h (3744)
323969	2005-02-12 01:33:00	Old Saf. is certainly good for a laugh.	Cicero (40)
323970	2005-02-12 03:08:00	Murray your analogy, although interesting, does not make sense . You cannot hope to compare computer platforms with micro-organisms and human biology . Computer systems are created by man and inherently flawed . . . . ALL computer systems whether they be based on Windows, Linux, Mac whatever . I see how my original post must have seemed a little polarised, however focus on the bigger picture . I was trying to point out that there is a far greater target base and therefore greater temptation for virus writers to attack the systems with the most users . If 90% of the world's computer users were running Mac's then it would be a sure bet that virus writers would turn their attention to searching for and exploiting faults in Mac OS . The Mac OS is not perfect, it crashes and has security patches released to fix holes (admittedly no where near as many as windows - but issues all the same) just like any other operating system . My point is don't be so cocky as to think you are running a completely secure system just because you don't run windows . :rolleyes: Sorry if I have been a little confused . My exact point in as few words as possble is: <Using the numbers game when you have no link to base the aruement on is as specious as my argument with regard to maleria . Your arguement is flawed, I used mine to point that out, now you tell me my arguement is flawed??? Exactly my point!!!> To expand a little :groan: None of this has nothing to do with philosophical questions of by what something was created, whether it is in nature or artificial has no bearing whatsoever, it makes no sense to present that as a response . If something is inherently flawed and another thing with similar properties is not, it does not not matter, I repeat, does not matter one little bit: how it was made or, by what it was made, or even, what it is made of . If more people use one than the other, the properties of the thing remain exactly the same, it is still the same thing in every respect with all it's strengths and weaknesses intact . So, if I had a super duper wizzo computer system that nobody could hack or otherwise compromise in any way if I didn't wish it, it wouldn't matter if there was one or umpty jazzillion more of them than anything else, it's still not vulnerable to outside influence . Now if there is umpty jazillion of them out there, no doubt there is plenty more reason for toerags to have a go at them than a system with far fewer numbers, but has the super duper become more vulnerable as a result? Well only if it was vulnerable in the first place, if not, then no it is no more vulnerable than before it's numbers increased . In the real world there is no such thing as an invulnerable system, only degrees of vulnerability inherent within the methods used to build the system (but wait, NZ is invulnerable to maleria, no one has ever caught it here and won't no matter how many people live here . Unless, of course, our fundamental physical conditions are altered drastically or a new vector evolves) . So those degrees of vulnerability remain the same no matter what the popularity of the system . The risk of exploitation will increase with popularity though, but some are just more popular to attack because more toerags are given the opportunity to attack it . You can only use your arguement if you have comparitive results for vulnerabilities on other systems correlated to quantity, and the results support your arguement . Old Saf . is certainly good for a laugh . Well at least it wasn't a hit & run, he/she has hung around to check out the victim .	Murray P (44)
323971	2005-02-12 03:46:00	:thumbs: point taken Murray	Sb0h (3744)
323972	2005-02-12 04:14:00	It is a reasonable question, is there a reasonable answer. Why do PC users put up with so many viruses and worms. I'd rephrase that question to: Why do some PC users put up with so many viruses and worms? I have been a computer user since 1993 (still a newbie:D) and I have never had a virus or worm. I did find a "Stoned" virus on a 5¼ floppy once but that is all. I have used to have heaps picked up by Norton when scanning incoming spam emails, but now Mailwasher looks after that and they never get to the download stage. I'll bet I'm not alone in this either, I don't take any special precautions beyond keeping my AV up to date, using normal commonsense in downloading, and staying clear of p2p networks. Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
323973	2005-02-12 05:23:00	I'd rephrase that question to: Why do some PC users put up with so many viruses and worms? I have been a computer user since 1993 (still a newbie:D) and I have never had a virus or worm. I did find a "Stoned" virus on a 5¼ floppy once but that is all. I have used to have heaps picked up by Norton when scanning incoming spam emails, but now Mailwasher looks after that and they never get to the download stage. I'll bet I'm not alone in this either, I don't take any special precautions beyond keeping my AV up to date, using normal commonsense in downloading, and staying clear of p2p networks. Cheers Billy 8-{) Not sure what that means. It's not only people looking up naughty sites and p2p networks that get virus problems. Page 109 in Dec PCWorld tells us of banks airlines etc getting hit.If you have the secret you could soon be in the money.	Cicero (40)
323974	2005-02-12 05:43:00	I'd rephrase that question to: Why do some PC users put up with so many viruses and worms? I have been a computer user since 1993 (still a newbie:D) and I have never had a virus or worm. I did find a "Stoned" virus on a 5¼ floppy once but that is all. I have used to have heaps picked up by Norton when scanning incoming spam emails, but now Mailwasher looks after that and they never get to the download stage. I'll bet I'm not alone in this either, I don't take any special precautions beyond keeping my AV up to date, using normal commonsense in downloading, and staying clear of p2p networks. Cheers Billy 8-{) Viruses are really a non issue now with ISP filters in place. It is spyware, dialers, browser hijacks etc which are the main problem. It is everywhere and some people don't realize they have this stuff or don't know that it exists until their computer starts to slow down or something stops working. I have just had to help 2 people who could not get any web sites and it was due to new.net on their computer and winsock2 corruption. There would be very few Windows users who don't have some sort of spyware/adware on their system due to the ease that it can be installed on MS programs.	Safari (3993)
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