Computer Viruses

If it's happening outside of North America and you want to talk about it, this is the place!

Re: Computer Viruses

Postby surfsteve » Fri Jul 22, 2011 11:28 am

Last time I called Verizon they asked me which operating system I was using. I replied Linux Mint and the woman didn't understand me. Her reply was. What version of Windows are you using? This time she asked what form of virus protection I would be using and I had to explain to her that there are no viruses that exist for Linux and that I didn't need any.

I did download virtual box and windows xp just so I could view netflix only to find out that my account had expired. Not sure why they haven't written a program to allow it to run on Linux. Apparently they take advantage of the spyware in windows to make sure you aren't trying to pirate anything from them. Funny because they have driven me to pirate bay and I no longer need their services. I only use netflix to browse for movie titles anymore.

I got another warning from verizon of someone accusing me of copyright violations. I think it's from accidentally downloading the tracker files in the torrents.

Funny nobody gave me any warning that the files I was downloading were allegedly copyrighted. How is a person to tell without actually downloading the file?
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Re: Computer Viruses

Postby desertrat » Wed Aug 24, 2011 7:42 am

When Algorithms Control The World
What happens when the computers running these algorithms get infected with a virus? :shock:
If you were expecting some kind warning when computers finally get smarter than us, then think again. There will be no soothing HAL 9000-type voice informing us that our human services are now surplus to requirements. In reality, our electronic overlords are already taking control, and they are doing it in a far more subtle way than science fiction would have us believe. Their weapon of choice - the algorithm. Behind every smart web service is some even smarter web code. From the web retailers - calculating what books and films we might be interested in, to Facebook's friend finding and image tagging services, to the search engines that guide us around the net.

LINK: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14306146
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Re: Computer Viruses

Postby cactuspete » Fri Sep 09, 2011 7:53 am

Cybercrime costs rival those of illegal drug trafficking
Who knows what the real costs are, but bad things do happen even in the cyberspace! :pacman:
The most common form crime takes is viruses and malware, with 54% experiencing them, followed by online scams (11%) and phishing (10%). Norton measured mobile phone crime and found that 10% fell victim, including smishing - phishing by SMS. Tracking in all 24 countries, the company found that 1 million people per day became victims of cybercrime. The more time individuals spend online, the more likely they were to be hit. Of those spending 49 hours online per week, 79% were victims, while the number was 64% for those who spent 24 hours or less online.

LINK: https://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/090711-cybercrime-250580.html
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Re: Computer Viruses

Postby cactuspete » Tue Apr 24, 2012 8:10 am

A New Variant of Malware Takes Aim at Mac Users
This one was being used for click fraud, but "as with all malware, its creators can choose to use infected computers however they like." You might think that you're the only person in control of your computer, but that's really an illusion. Just because you are the only person with physical access to your computer doesn't mean that others aren't using it in one way or the other!
:frightened:
Earlier this month, security researchers discovered a new piece of malware had infected more than half a million Apple computers in what was the largest-scale attack on Apple’s Mac OS X operating system to date. The malware spread through a security hole in Java software that let its creators download a malicious program onto victims’ machines without prompting. Users did not even have to click a malicious link for their computers to be infected. The program simply downloaded itself. Apple released two security patches for the vulnerability and encouraged Mac users to run their software updates as soon as possible. Within two weeks, the number of infected computers dropped from 600,000 to 140,000, according to Symantec.

LINK: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/23/a-new-variant-of-malware-targets-mac-users/
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