July 4th, 2005
PCs Infected in 12 Minutes
By Vic DaSilva
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
The speed with which PCs can become infected has now shortened. If your Windows computer is not properly protected, it will take 12 minutes before it becomes infected, according to London-based security company,Sophos. Sophos has detected 7,944 new viruses in the first half of 2005, a 59-percent increase over the same time span last year.
IBM reported that phishing attacks had increased 226 percent.
“IBM’s May Global Business Security Index attributes the increase in phishing attacks to the rise of zombie “botnets” being used to pump out massive volumes of the scam e-mail used in phishing attacks, as cyber-criminals attempt to increase their profits.
IBM’s most interesting find was a malware hijacking threat operating from the host name iframeDOLLARS.biz, which attempted to recruit partner websites to host a variety of malicious code to exploit Internet Explorer browsers. A successful infection would create numerous Trojans, back-door breaches and spyware installed on target computers.” Source:Globe and Mail
Here are some other interesting facts from the article.
- in May, more than 30 percent of e-mail contained some form of virus — a 33 percent increase over the previous month.
- In May, 68.7 per cent of inbound e-mail traffic contained some form of spam(unchanged over the last 3 months)
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Willy says:
Crappy article, but this girl will make you warm inside.
http://www.fotodaze.com/view.php?view=1256
July 5th, 2005 at 7:02 am
budgenator says:
If I were Microsoft, and my software was bearing the brunt of this kind of onslought, like it has for almost a decade; I’d be getting very paranoid by now. Perhaps it’s well past time for them to go on the offensive, so a few into bankruptcy.
It would be emotionaly satisfiying to hammer a few malicious server’s into smoking rubble, and and send a the phishers enough data that they choke, to bad it’s probably illegal.
July 5th, 2005 at 7:17 am
Bits of News says:
Windows Infected in 12 Minutes
The speed with which PC’’s can become infected has now shortened. If your Windows computer is not properly protected,it will take 12 minutes before it becomes infected, according to London-based security company, Sophos. They have detected 7,944 new …
July 5th, 2005 at 7:23 am
Raven says:
Tried to trackback this story, but it did’nt seem to work. Is there anything wronw with the trackback system here? Well here’s the URL of the story wich i linked to this one. http://bitsofnews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2056
or you can go directly to http://bitsofnews.com
July 5th, 2005 at 7:26 am
diab says:
well you know, microsoft has to keep a market alive
i mean, if they’d suddenly make a secure system, where should all those anti-viri, firewalls, registry cleaners, etc go?
July 5th, 2005 at 7:27 am
jon says:
percent not per cent
July 5th, 2005 at 7:29 am
Alice says:
Welcome /. We love you!!!
July 5th, 2005 at 8:35 am
Alice says:
Jon - we fixed the “per cent” spelling. Thanks for catching it!
July 5th, 2005 at 8:37 am
ThatRickGuy says:
No info about the OS? Connection? Patch history? Virus?
This article is about worthless.
-Rick
July 5th, 2005 at 8:43 am
Lockergnome's Tech News Watch says:
PCs Infected in 12 Minutes
The speed with which PCs can become infected has now shortened. If your Windows computer is not properly protected, it will take 12 minutes before it becomes infected, according to London-based security company,Sophos. Sophos has detected 7,944 new vir…
July 5th, 2005 at 8:47 am
Alice says:
I went to the original article and it seemed to center around websites and IE not the OS. Virus info:
“The security company made this observation while releasing its list of the top 10 viruses for the period from January to the end of June. The list was headed by Zafi-D (25.3 per cent), followed by Netsky-P (17.5 per cent); Sober-N (10.3 per cent); Zafi-B (4.7 per cent); Netsky-D (3.8 per cent); Mytob-BE (2.6 per cent); Netsky-Z (2.3 per cent); Mytob-AS (2 per cent); Netsky-B (1.9 per cent) and Sober-K (1.7 per cent). The remaining 27.9 per cent was shared among all other viruses.
“The figures were in agreement with those released late last week by IBM, which reported that phishing attacks had increased 226 per cent, while viruses and worms, such as Sober and Mytob, also continued to spread rapidly through e-mail and Web applications.”
July 5th, 2005 at 8:49 am
GreyGeek says:
The title of the article should be
“Windows infected in 12 minutes!”
because PC != Windows.
PCs are secure if they run a secure OS.
July 5th, 2005 at 9:58 am
Privacy Digest: Privacy News (Civil Rights, Encryption, Free Speech, Cryptography) says:
Windows Infected in 12 Minutes.
July 5th, 2005 at 10:04 am
Vivek says:
Not a new news. That’s why I use Linux on Desktop
. Goodbuy to Windows!
July 5th, 2005 at 10:05 am
chris king says:
windows sucks. switch to linux. problem solved.
July 5th, 2005 at 10:18 am
Josh Einstein says:
What a load of horse shit. If everyone switched to Linux then the title would say “Linux infected in 12 minutes”. You people have no idea what you’re talking about, you just like to throw mud at Microsoft because it’s the “cool” thing to do in your geeky little open source world. Get a life, really. Go out and get some sun for once this summer.
July 5th, 2005 at 10:38 am
David Johnston says:
I’d also like to point out that Macs and Linux/Unix can be very vulnerable to attack if configured poorly. I had a person two doors down from me in my dorm who considered himself pretty computer-literate get his Powerbook hacked into because he had an administrator account with a common username and password combination.
July 5th, 2005 at 10:42 am
Rob says:
You got the Globe link at least, but where’s Sophos’ original publication?
Agreed with Rick’s point: where’s the info on what OS? Sure, /Windows 95/ is not suitable for the internet, but neither is Mac OS 7. XP SP2’s on-by-default firewall is another story.
It /is/ about worthless.
July 5th, 2005 at 11:06 am
Slashdot Sucks says:
Slashdot is full of fucking linux freaks. Their reading this article while wanking into a sock in their parents basement.
July 5th, 2005 at 11:10 am
Dee Snuts says:
David Johnston. That’s just stupidity and has no bearing on the Operating System.
So how long does a system running Mac OS X with no “protection” get infected ?
July 5th, 2005 at 12:40 pm
Blog Medley says:
PCs Infected in 12 Minutes
The time it takes to get an unprotected computer infected by the dirty whore that is the internet has dropped to 12 minutes… time to invest in a little a firewall or 10.
Check it out…
July 5th, 2005 at 1:10 pm
Michael Cox says:
I think this is a typo (on their site)
“IBM added that in May, more than 30 per cent of e-mail contained some form of virus — a 33 per cent increase over the previous month.”
the article goes on to say:
“In May, one in 32.2 (or 3.12 per cent of all e-mail) e-mail messages contained some form of virus or Trojan attack, an increase over the past month of 33 per cent.”
I think the first paragraph was supposed to say “3 percent”
July 5th, 2005 at 1:37 pm
Dee Sright says:
My wife and I have been using Linux or MAcOSX exclusively for 6 years. No infections. Yes we do have antivirus and firewall, but I admin a large company still using Microsoft 2000 and newer and if it wasn’t for my Linux antivirus on my Linux mail server 168 Microsoft only viruses/trojans would have made it to their boxes in the last 10 hours. None of these could have done anything to my linux box.
To the Josh Einstein’s who do not have a clue as to what Linux is and how they can make these security claims…shutup until you have tried it and know what you are talking about.
Microsoft “security” and Linux security are apples and oranges. One is an OS made to run on a network and the other was origionally designed to run offline and make security the users worry. If everyone was using Linux or MacOSX or BSD, viruses/trojans would diminish.
July 5th, 2005 at 1:45 pm
darthlupi says:
NIX SECURITY VS WINDOWS SECURITY:
It’s a just a matter of fact that the general public is going to be more inclined to install Windows on their home computer VS some flavor of Linux/Unix. From my experiences, if your average computer illiterate fool owned a Linux box they would find some way to destroy there box, through a virus or coffee, in no time.
Open source does allow many more helping hands in solving problems with security as well. If Windows was to publish it’s source there would be a torrent of new holes and vulnerabilities that would bring the many a box to it’s knees. After a couple of weeks it would be more secure than ever.
Twelve Minutes:
I know people who can do it 2!
July 5th, 2005 at 1:47 pm
JJ says:
The education level of this thread is generally (not everyone, so calm down) disappointing.
It “does” matter what operating system is involved.
Mac OS X is by default much more secure than windows is.
The tired argument that just because there are less machines running it is the reason they are not so much at risk is just a contrived “talking point” with no hard facts to back it up.
I use both operating systems, which allows me to have a valid opinion of how they are different. I doubt very much that the detractors of OS X in this thread have ever used OS X for any appreciative length of time. It’s just too easy to take shots at something you don’t understand, and probably find intimidating.
July 5th, 2005 at 2:19 pm
Karma says:
Perhaps the idea that Microsoft and other software koretsu should go on the offensive is only the beginning.
The computer criminal subculture has transmogrified from information freedomfighters into what seems to be a lawless band of profiteering gluttons screwing up the internet and making the republicans uneasy about free access to information.
Perhaps the ‘hackers’ who truly believe in the freedom that they so valiantly take at will should be developing methods of sateguarding your computer which sting back at the attacker. Rather than coming up with the next great hacks for counter-strike etc.
Many of you here may have the know-how to put a bear trap on your machine, but will wait for someone like microsoft or IBM to do it for you, then you’ll merely point out the ease in which it may be exploited in a forum such as this. I’m sure you all know who you are.
The answer isn’t more security, it’s making the security in place more effective at stopping the criminals. fight fire with fire, I know anyone who’s ever been hacked or caught a nasty bitch of a virus still has the taste of blood in their mouth, so go forth, seek and destroy.
My heart goes with ya.
July 5th, 2005 at 3:18 pm
Configure says:
People don’t onlyl bash (I can call it bashing, right?) Windows for kicks. Some people really have grave concerns about it. Windows’ “service packs” are very drastic measures, the likes of which have never been seen before, coming from an OS maker. SPs aren’t little point updates, they’re serious workovers that are meant to tackle serious problems that shouldn’t have been present in the first place.
Remember all the hooplah about XP during its initial release? Many of us thought it was a significant breakthrough. But don’t tell /me/ they couldn’t have afforded the time to make XP secure by default. Service packs can be thought of as crucial pieces of the OS that Microsoft was simply too lazy to produce five years ago.
And now they’re expecting Windows users to hold still for two more years, while they finish a product that they keep removing features from. That’s why the 12-minute statistic is relevant to current PC users. Current PCs can be compromised quickly without being carefully maintained. At least until the Longhorn release, every Windows-equipped PC you buy will have that 12-minute vulnerability before you even buy it, as it sits on the shelf. Microsoft is expecting you to buy a faulty product and to patch it up while they work on a new solution. Sure, you can live with it. But it isn’t reasonable…
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=shafted
July 5th, 2005 at 3:29 pm
noname says:
My 6 Windows machines are online 7×24 all year long, no sign of “infection” of any kind. Care to explain from where this “12 minutes” BS comes from???
July 5th, 2005 at 3:43 pm
Darren says:
I dont think it is a typo with the percentage increase. An increase from say around 23% to 30% as stated would be a 33% increase compared to the original value, i dont think they mean 33% as a total…
July 5th, 2005 at 4:14 pm
Anonamin says:
Wow. (un)impressed by the level of intelligence portrayed by the “average user” responding to this article. Cheers, however, to the one, Karma, who turned the faces of the old-school hackers around to see they are sitting on their asses allowing crap they -know- they could combat more effectively than M$.
And to the many Windoid users out there, thinking this is BS and that osx/nix users are “picking on them”. WAKE UP! First, RTFA (Read The F*** Article)~ 12minutes means the amount of time an -unprotected-, average, deafult windows install takes to get infected if connected online after initial install. (For the one connected >6years, congrats to you. You’re a very lucky, low profile target. Do you, however, run internet services on it? (ie. web/mail/sql server?) and, if so, is it highly ranked on google/yahoo? If not, your a very, very small target.)
For those asking “What about a defualt OSX install? How long does that take?” Well, when it happens, I’ll let you know. Seriously, though, -anything- can be broken into, a poor password/account can be fatal. But, for OSX, other than poor passwords there is little that can seriously harm or take over an OSX box, even on a clean, unpatched install.
And to those (semi) intelligent windows user out there, praising their own systems, and how they have easily secured them- the problem is not -directly- you, but it -is- your attitude. For every ~secure windows machine out there, there are -thousands- of unsecured ones, and of those perhaps 10-50% are infected, probably dormantly awaiting instructions. Not every, or even many, infections do -anything- until activated, btw. And, even then, they are very unlikely to do anything to their “host” system. They are pawns in a huge, online game of illegal activities.
So, in the end, sure, if 90% of units were linux/osx, the virii would target them 90% too. Whatever. At least they enter the internet world with their pants on wearing a rain coat and an umbrella. Fresh windows units enter the internet backwards, bent over & naked, screaming “Don’t infect me! It will take me more than 12 minutes to download the security packs!”
July 5th, 2005 at 5:19 pm
Johny_B says:
Winbugs, sólo sirve para juegar…!
July 5th, 2005 at 5:37 pm
Dagan says:
The problem with Windows boxes isn’t Windows per se, though that’s a big issue, but rather the users. I can’t even begin to enumorate the number of times I’ve told my Aunt not to down load this or that. Her response? But, it’s so cute, or sometime to that extent. Everytime she calls me I have to remove 300+ Spyware items, and she usually has a virus. I finally got her to at least use Zone Alarm, but she wasn’t (still isn’t) happy about it. I’m sure everyone has a friend or relative like this. Now how am I suppose to help secure a system that the user doesn’t want secured?! It’s nearly impossible unless you’re an admin at a company that gives a damn.
I’ve used Linux, though I prefer FreeBSD. But, being a Windows admin by profession, my primary box is a Windows XP SP2 machine. I just upgraded the hardware and did a clean install last year, and the machine has been uninfected ever since. Actually, I take that back. I got backweb somehow, but I removed it and ran a complete audit of everything on my system to make sure nothing else was infected. How do I do it? I run anti-virus software and keep the definitions up to date. I have a hardware firewall on my broadband connection. I don’t click on the links of every email I get. I only install software from trusted sources and scan it for viri before installing it. And, I have an IE plugin to thrawt a lot of the common stuff (though I primary surf with Firefox unless I’m forced to use IE). Oh, and the big one … I don’t run as an Admin. It’s a pain in the arse, but it’s the safe thing to do.
The only port I have open inbound is SSH to a FreeBSD box so that I can RDP in to my XP box through port redirection when I’m away from home. You know what I see when I look at the auth.log on the FreeBSD machine? A lot of hack attempts. But, I have strong passwords set, and root can’t log in remotely. Could someone hack it? Sure a professional could, or someone could probably brute force the machine if I wasn’t paying attating for a couple days. I’m not going to deny that. If I really wanted to lock it down, I’d close the SSH port or use a 2048 key to connect to the machine. But, I’d have to be a real target first, and Joe Blow sitting on a broadband link is nothing (especially when there are so many unsecured Windows machines).
July 5th, 2005 at 6:20 pm
Thirty Helens Agree says:
Make the Decision to Switch to OSX in 12 Minutes
I came across an article about how quickly (12 minutes) a base build of Windows will be attacked when left out on the internet without a firewall, security patches, etc. Recently I brought a directly connected Windows 2000 Virtual Server instance onl…
July 5th, 2005 at 6:45 pm
Flamenco says:
Yeah, it is great that we have a choice of OS, and we get to choose from FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, the bajillion flavours of Linux, Solaris, Windows XP/2000 etc for an ix86 platform, but practically speaking, till date windows remains the only viable choice for most users. Most people can’t be bothered or don’t have the option of using an alternate OS like FreeBSD.
I used to dual-boot my machine, had Linux and Windoze 2000. As time passed I found myself using Linux less and less and windoze more and more, though I am a hard core Unix geek and do everything from patching kernel code, writing kernel drivers and trying to do everything from scratch including getting that blasted wireless LAN on USB running properly. Still, it was EXTREMELY painful getting my stuff to work on Linux. First of all my printer.. had to install CUPS, search for the right driver, mess around for a couple of days before it worked.
Then, my scanner. I use a film scanner which is not supported out of the box on Linux, though it’s a minolta I had to get some HP drivers which supported the same chipset, etc and get it recognised first. Then software.. there was no software which would do what I wanted. As for xsane, the less said the better. There’s such a range of options for scanning software on windows. Then came my digital camera.. it wouldn’t get recognised on Linux. I had to invest in a CF card reader whose drivers btw would bork when the reader was plugged in. Then came the webcam.. the same circus again.
And don’t even get me started on image editing software, etc, and for god’s sake forget about GIMP.
At the end, I got so sick of it that I just plugged everything in to windoze and it works just fine till today.
The short of it is that most users would go through a similar scenario, the average Joe would have a scanner, printer, camera, webcam, etc. Device drivers exist for Linux but when it comes to ease of installation, there is no such thing in Linux, not even Mandrake or Suse, when compared to MacOS or even windows. I was a hard core Linux fanatic, and yes, I can get all my stuff to work, and I would have during my student days. However, given other considerations (job, family, etc) I chose to go the easier route, as would most people on this planet.
Windoze will continue to be insecure as far as I can see, unless the USGovt or some big shot organization sticks a gun at Bill’s head nothing will be done. In the mean time Linux is NOT a viable choice for the masses.
July 5th, 2005 at 7:19 pm
WebMaster says:
Es lo que les pasa a los webones que usan Windows. jejejeje.
July 6th, 2005 at 6:18 am
Jimmy the Geek says:
Never “strike back” against machines that you think are attacking your machine. If you do then your machine will be used to attack innocent 3rd parties and make you a criminal. If you don’t know what IP Spoofing is then please don’t suggest solutions.
Turn the other cheek.
Thanks!
July 6th, 2005 at 6:59 am
Elements of life says:
The onslaught of Windows viruses only gets worse
“If your Windows computer is not properly protected, it will take 12 minutes before it becomes infected” Ouch….
July 6th, 2005 at 1:23 pm
Onideus Mad Hatter says:
Where do they get this “12 minutes” number…I mean, okay it’s from a security company who makes their money of the fears and paranoia of a malicious attack/infection, but really, if they’re going to lie they could at least try and make some sense while they’re at it. Technically it wouldn’t take more than 12 seconds to get infected by a virus…provided you went to the right place. You know, like www.amazinginternetspamslutslollerskatesweregonnafukupyerbox.com
Seriously most infections have nothing to do with the equipment, they have everything to do with user stupidity and a short between the chair and keyboard.
July 6th, 2005 at 7:28 pm
The JAFT Journal says:
PCs Infected in 12 Minutes
“The speed with which PCs can become infected has now shortened. If your Windows computer is not properly protected, it will take 12 minutes before it becomes infected.” Scary. The first thing you do on a new PC before connecting it to the Internet i…
July 9th, 2005 at 2:33 am
Onideus Mad Hatter says:
Apparently these doofy fuckers are claiming that you can setup a windows box with an Inet connection and it’s just going to some how ~*magically*~ get infected without you even doing anything…
Yeah…well I’m gonna just head on back over to REALITY, the rest of you stupid lying delusional bitches can just go fuck yourselves for all I care.
July 11th, 2005 at 2:43 pm
csv says:
It’s obviously all about the firewall.
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November 24th, 2005 at 10:43 am
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[…] product manager If you put one of these unprotected machines on the Internet, it will be compromised within minutes. Your brand new computer will be hijacked mostly by spammers, but also by hacke […]
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[…] Most of Windows users need a good antivirus, since a Windows system can get infected within 12 minutes if it gets online without a firewall or an antivirus (more reports), problem is most of the “Good ones” aren’t free, or so we were led to believe. […]
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