With great computing power comes great responsibility. Unsecured
computers hurt their owners by exposing them to identity theft
and stolen passwords. But they can also be conscripted as foot
soldiers in a destructive online army: At best, it inconveniences
all users by spewing noisome spam. At worst, it generates large-scale
attacks on the Web sites of companies and even governments that
can shut down networks at enormous cost.
These botnet programs represent a growing scourge, especially since
so many Internet
users won’t take the fairly simple steps
needed to combat them. Users need to update their computers regularly,
bite the bullet and upgrade when out-of-date software is no longer
supported by its maker, use the firewalls that come with their
computers, and install antivirus programs. Most states require
car owners to buy liability insurance. Asking users to make a minimal
effort to keep their computers from damaging others is not beyond
the pale.
Affected computers are commonly referred to as zombies because they go through
active motions unaware that they are even doing anything. First a virus or worm
program compromises the computer. Then the criminal behind the attack can control
it remotely. As John Markoff reported recently in The Times, a consensus estimate
among experts is that 11 percent of the more than 650 million computers connected
to the Internet are infected.
In the early days of the Internet, there was an optimistic vision of a virtual
global village through which everyone around the world would be connected, leading
to greater understanding and even peace. In this day of jihadi Web sites, that
sounds about as realistic as the world adopting Esperanto as its official language.
There was a crucial difference between early adopters and the bulk of the Internet
users of today. At the dawn of networked computing, the hobbyists and professionals
online expected to have to learn and do a little work. As the Internet became
the mainstream, the dedication of technology companies to creating easy plug-and-play
products has made the Internet seem as though it requires less understanding
and care among users than it does. Every user has a personal responsibility for
our collective security, no matter how much of a hassle updates, firewalls and
security patches may be. - NEW YORK TIMES
These botnet programs represent a growing scourge, especially since
so many Internet
users won’t take the fairly simple steps
needed to combat them. Users need to update their computers regularly,
bite the bullet and upgrade when out-of-date software is no longer
supported by its maker, use the firewalls that come with their
computers, and install antivirus programs. Most states require
car owners to buy liability insurance. Asking users to make a minimal
effort to keep their computers from damaging others is not beyond
the pale.
h
active motions unaware that they are even doing anything. First a virus or worm
program compromises the computer. Then the criminal behind the attack can control
it remotely. As John Markoff reported recently in The Times, a consensus estimate
among experts is that 11 percent of the more than 650 million computers connected
to the Internet are infected.
There was a crucial difference between early adopters and the bulk of the Internet
users of today. At the dawn of networked computing, the hobbyists and professionals
online expected to have to learn and do a little work. As the Internet became
the mainstream, the dedication of technology companies to creating easy plug-and-play
products has made the Internet seem as though it requires less understanding
and care among users than it does. Every user has a personal responsibility for
our collective security, no matter how much of a hassle updates, firewalls and
security patches may be. - NEW YORK TIMES 
