Antivirus Software
Dear Fellow IT Professionals,
I read an article this weekend about the downfall of Antivirus due to mindset and determination of Hackers/Crackers and the unwillingness of users to educate themselves to help thwart the problem. To us, Viruses and Antivirus software are both a nuisance and a good source of income? I myself have cleaned machines for a little quick cash. But we even contribute to the problem by showing the users that it is only a nuisance and they shouldn?t worry about it. The only time that anyone realizes the true magnitude of the problem is when their identity has been stolen due to a backdoor. We all contribute to the problem because we all smack at the small bugs hoping that no one gets stung instead of lighting a fire under the nest (attacking the people who write, and execute the viruses).
We?ll I for one think it is time to step it up a notch and show these people that we are not kidding. How do we do that? It?s simple and in three stages? Step 1. Provide a way for users to submit viruses and collaborate with each other so that we can track the progression of viruses and better understand how they are distributed. Step 2. Provide a free and Open Source Virus removal tool. Make it so anyone can contribute to the virus database. This will start to change the mindset of the hackers and crackers and may even start a war between the two types of Hackers? imagine it hackers vs. hackers. Step three. Get legislation passed so that we can hold the writer and executer of the Virus legally and financially responsible for the damages these programs cause.
Now, I would like to add that Steps 1 and 2 will not prevent true hackers/crackers from entering your system but it will make it harder and will also weed out the Script Kiddies because the hackers that do write the programs will be less inclined to publish them on our internet as they could be held responsible for the damages as well.
So I feel confident that we can win the battle against Viruses, Trojans, Worms, Hackers, and Crackers; we just need a different approach. We need to change their mindset. We need to understand how these things spread, and why users continually get them, and then we need to strike back with a force that hasn?t been seen in our generation. We need to make examples and show the others that we are not tolerate them. We will keep the internet alive and secure for our children.
What will you do to protect our internet?
David Bates
Amen Bates.
Or…we could all get macs!