Anti-spyware
ineffective: survey
By Gregg Keizer, TechWeb 15 March 2005 09:07AM
Mr. Keizer reports in 
as follows:
" ... defences against spyware are ineffective, according to a survey"
SamRoitman.com, Inc. comments:
We note that this sad news came at a time when spyware had already become a virtual epidemic.
We are happy to report-- at least according to our anecdotal evidence -- that spyware seems to be much more under control these days. It appears less rampant, and programs to keep it in check and/or remove it have improved, as well.
This does not mean you should lessen your vigilance, however.
Another piece by Mr. Keizer appeared in the same periodical,
Australian PC Authority, in March 2005:
By Gregg Keizer, TechWeb 17 March 2005 03:06PM
"At least a million machines are under the control of hackers worldwide," this article quoted German computer security experts.
SamRoitman.com, Inc. comments:
Again, as we saw time and again, the vulnerable computers were running Windows Operating Systems.
But we're going to go out on a limb here. Now that Macs are becoming more and more popular, and overtaking school classrooms as they once did (in their infancy), they will become more vulnerable, too, to "evildoers."
Our reasoning is as follows:
If someone wants to invest time in creating a software weapon that will cripple a computer or two, that person wants to see maximum impact when the attack is unleashed and the malware is set free to prowl the internet. Now the same effort - more or less- must be exerted to create a bug that will attack a PC as a Mac. But if 80-90% more machines are put out of commission with a Windows attack, it would make sense to target that OS. As Macs become more ubiquitous, they will fall prey to the same kinds of attacks.
It's more a function of human nature than of operating system holes. (Unless, of course, Bill Gates has left an opening in Vista you could drive a truckload of servers through...) As the Good Book says: You should never place a stumbling block in the path of a blind man.