Hackers moving to other targets than Microsoft software

Posted on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 18:32 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck

A new survey released today states that computer criminals are shifting their eyes away from Microsoft products to other popular programs. Hackers are now looking to take advantage of less frequently patched software programs as Microsoft's Windows operating system got more secure because many Windows users nowadays receive security upgrades automatically.

But anyhow Microsoft's programs are still a popular target for hackers who have found multiple holes in Internet Explorer, Media Player, MSN Messenger as well as in the company's Windows OS for PCs and servers.

During the first quarter of 2005 more than 600 new Internet security holes were found, according to SANS. More info at Reuters

About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.

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Re: Hackers moving to other targets than Microsoft software
by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 19:59 CEST

how bout a link to the survey? and a link to who paid for the servey... i would bet the money trail leads back to microsoft

Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 20:27 CEST

It was a Redmond Campus survey.
- Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 20:51 CEST
  
  Funny....
  
  Dont they get that only noobs like windows because they dont know about linux?
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 20:48 CEST

Looks like they are counting programs Pymusique that by passess the DRM from the Itunes music store and older versions of Winamp that allowed removal of DRM. This study seems to equate bypassing DRM is the same as a spyware/trojan/virus.
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 23:20 CEST

Whoever posted this is either an irresponsible & incompetent journalist or (more likely) a sleazy marketing hack attempting to spread stories that favor their interests.

As for myself, I'll stay away from this site for any future reference.

Re: Hackers moving to other targets than Microsoft software
by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 20:52 CEST

It was done by a nonprofit called SANS.
http://www.sans.org/

Re: Hackers moving to other targets than Microsoft software
by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 20:54 CEST

http://www.sans.org/top20/Q1-2005update

RTFA

Re: Hackers moving to other targets than Microsoft software
by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:14 CEST

Microsoft Windows had proven time and time again that it is completly insecure, at times when MicroSoft was screaming otherwise.

MicroSoft have a totally untrustworthy product here. Don't use it people, this is propaganda - someone was paid off.

Even if these figures are correct , and fewer hackers are attacking windows, that does NOT make it more secure.

Remember the I LOVE YOU virus ? That was one hacker, who thanks to the poor coding of Windows, took out millions and millions of systems.

Why not try OSX ?

Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:20 CEST

"Why not try OSX" -- Now thats propaganda
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:24 CEST

"That was one hacker, who thanks to the poor coding of Windows, took out millions and millions of systems."

No, actually that was one hacker who took advantage of stupid people who opened up their email attachments when they shouldn't have.
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:25 CEST

Or, you could use Solaris for x86, FreeBSD, Linux, or Novell NetWare.
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:29 CEST

More than 90% of all home computers run on Microsoft Windows so it's very normal most hackers and virus writers solely aim at Windows, because it simply has the largest share of the market.

And about the I love you virus: it was a huge problem because too many people don't know a shit about computer security. If they had a virus scanner and if they weren't so credulous there wouldn't have been a problem at all.
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:29 CEST

OSX is the best thing that ever happened to MACs - Linux!
- Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:43 CEST
  
  OSX is more FreeBSD than Linux :)
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:29 CEST

Yeah, I like using computers, not toys. Good luck with OSX.
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:46 CEST

Its really funny that everyone can talk bad about microsoft and how unsercure it is.

Lets see you write and OS that has billions if not zillions of users using it. And lets see if security holes are not found.

Having an OS like linux that has no security holes but yet does nothign compared to microsoft means nothing because it doesnt do what the world needs it to do.

I am sure there are plenty of holes in other OS's. Just not enough people use them to have millions or hackers trying to exploit that OS.
- Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:58 CEST
  
  Linux is a hacker's dream OS. Not to be then distroyed by them. The fact that windows and OSX are closed source, is what drives hackers to make their point. Closed source sucks. Open Source allows everyone interested to aport ideas. Linux does email, internet, office, Sound and video editing as well as reproduction, CD and DVD burning, CAD, FEA, GAMES... take a look at BZflag, is hyper addictive. OH and because it doesn't contain garbage, linux makes your computer run faster. I converted one year ago and have not gone back. Not even for CAD, there is for example, PRO/e for linux. Runs more stable, and opens large assemblies... Windoes can't open large assemblies because it has a memory usage limit of 1.7gigs (2gigs for most programs). A normal CAD file here at work is more than 800megs.. winders sucks big time.
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:49 CEST

Hackers dont give a rats ass about building They are in to destroying or stealing. It doesnt matter what os you are using. As I see it now if a hacker wants to get in HE/she will do it in time. They make it their mission in life. Ha Ha I havent a clue why. You would think with that kind of knowledge it would be to make things and not destroy things.
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 22:00 CEST

Shhh... If OSX is great, use it. Don't try to convert the worlld or hackers will get a big enough base to make it worth while hacking the system. Leave the sleeping dog lie. Or is it let the sleeping log die?
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 22:15 CEST

it's not really that I'm using Windows because I love it or something. I use it just because it was pre-installed in my computer when I bought it.

so no matter what you tell about the andvantages of other operating systems, I doubt that I or other millions of pc user will take a risk or installing new os over original provided by hardware manufacter.

so instead of saying: "Don't use it people.." you should probably say: "Don't buy computers with Windows preinstalled..."

but is there a choice? I've seen no computers that are sold with linux preinstalled.
Mac is much expensive.

Intel & Microsoft work together... Mac is their competitor. So you probably should also avoid using Intel architecture?

but again, Intel's CPUs are cheaper.
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 22:17 CEST

Why should I waste my hard earned money on OSx. Just dl it for a sweet distro... Like Slackware or Suse or even Fedora. All Macs are these days are HIGH priced *nix boxes. Give me something that is better. LINUX!!! and that is free!
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 22:49 CEST

here is a page of a whole bunch of place's that sell linux preinstalled + some good info

http://www.linux.org/vendor/system/desktop.html

Re: Hackers moving to other targets than Microsoft software
by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:26 CEST

"That was one hacker, who thanks to the poor coding of Windows, took out millions and millions of systems."

No, actually that was one hacker who took advantage of stupid people that opened their email attachments when they shouldn't have.

Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:33 CEST

agreed. I have reasonable computer knowledge and have never been ruined by any spyware/virus/hijack. And why the need to push the "don't use microsoft" bit? Who cares what someone else uses anyway?
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:34 CEST

And just why should people not be able to open their emails? Why must people adapt to insecure systems instead of making the system secure so people can use them?
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:35 CEST

interesting how Linux leads the way with current hacks. check the stats. http://www.zone-h.org/
Stats gathered from firewall logs.

Why hack the software that is only on 5% or less of the computers. Go for the big hit.

The more popular you become the more of a target you are.

Interesting how logic dictates most peoples actions.
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:37 CEST

Normal usage is hardly "stupid." The OS shouldn't allow files to be automatically executed.

What are their names?
by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:45 CEST

What are the names of the " other popular programs" which have been targeted by hackers?

-------------------------
Steve Stites

Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:53 CEST

Firefox, Realplayer, and Mac were announced on the 21st.

http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/mfsa2005-34.html
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/mfsa2005-35.html
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/mfsa2005-36.html
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/mfsa2005-37.html
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/mfsa2005-38.html
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/mfsa2005-39.html
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/mfsa2005-40.html
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/mfsa2005-41.html

http://service.real.com/help/faq/security/050419_player/EN/

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301327

Re: Hackers moving to other targets than Microsoft software
by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:48 CEST

Its really funny that everyone can talk bad about microsoft and how unsercure it is.

Lets see you write and OS that has billions if not zillions of users using it. And lets see if security holes are not found.

Having an OS like linux that has no security holes but yet does nothign compared to microsoft means nothing because it doesnt do what the world needs it to do.

I am sure there are plenty of holes in other OS's. Just not enough people use them to have millions or hackers trying to exploit that OS.

Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:56 CEST

You dont' really know anything about operating systems do you? You probably haven't even tried any other operating systems. Instead of shooting off comments where you try to look smart by being contradictory, spend you time doing actual research
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 21:57 CEST

" yet does nothign compared to microsoft "

heh, that just shows what you know. Go back to playing your silly game and get off the net before you catch another virus.
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 22:07 CEST

Does nothing compared to MS?? What planet are YOU from, you try having a windows system up for a month, and play some detailed game, and watch the system act like a 486 dx4 with 8mb ram.
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 22:09 CEST

From the tone of your post it sounds like you yourself have not tried anything else yet. And yes ALL software has security holes of one form or another, be it from MS or anyone else.

There are two very key differences. Windows is still philisophically if not programmatically a single user system with networking code tacked on with duct tape, bailing wire, and hello kitty stickers. Rather than erring on the side of robustness, security, and performance, windows instead places high emphasis on ease of use (easy social exploits), extremely bloated code that requires a new computer for eac new rev of the OS, and backward -compatibility that drags many long standing problems along with it. If you use standards-based software these upgrades are less frequent and less painful.

Another barrier to apparently I've-only-used-windows users is that they are unwilling to learn, and tend to have a toster-oven mentality when it comes to how they treat their systems. This is not in itself a bad thing but the underlyng OS and applications must be able to protect themselves from acts of ignorance on the inside as well as malice from the outside. Once again windows is a day late and many dollars short.

So, I would suggest getting yourself a copy of knoppix or some other CD-bootable version of linux and give it a try. Just be sure to alter your measuring stick. Not being able to run IE is a "good" thing. Not having to worry about drive-by downloads, spyware, and viruses is a "good thing". Utility is based on "what" you can do not "what you use" to do it.
- Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 22:18 CEST
  
  I dont have time and am not interested in learning computer crap. I want to use it and I want it to work. Do you think you should know every aspect of auto mechanics before you are allowed to drive? I experience much frustration trying to keep these da-m things up. I dont want to be a computer tech, I want to go hiking.
  - Reply by Anonymous on Tuesday, May 03 2005 @ 2:08 CEST
    
    I see.
    
    Well, If all the thing did was make toast you could treat it like a toaster oven. Since you probably want to make it do more than that.
    
    My guess is that you spend far more time than you would like removing viruses, spyware, etc.
    
    And to take your car analogy a bit further, you would think after getting numerous nail punctures you'd either buy better tires or travel better roads. And hopefully you would be able to tell when you actually had a flat in the first place.
    
    Most users are looking for an appliance. Like you they don't want to get bogged down in technical minutaea. Computers, and more to the point, software, has not reached this point. You either can use a very limited "appliance" like web tv, or you step up to the plate and learn as ya go.
    
    I am a system administrator and I've used most PC os's since CP/M. Windows is by far the most difficult to manage, is more error prone than anything I deal with on a day to day basis. Why consumers (and the business world who ought to know better) continue to use the stuff just amazes me.
    
    So, you want something flexible AND rock solid with a shallow learning curve?
    
    The most trouble free systems I've ever worked on were Macs. They "just run". Very similar to Linux/Unix in that respect, but with lots of commercial software available, and for all intents and purposes unaffected by all the gunk that surely infests your machine as we speak.
    
    Lest you think I'm trying to talk down to you I'm not. All I'm saying is you lack the skills to make the call, and to save yourself a lot of lost time, data, and sanity, take a Mac for a test drive.
    
    It will not match a windows os click for click operationally. There is a learning curve, but it is pretty small. And remember: No OS is going to adapt to the way you think. It's just a dumb machine. YOU are the one whos is going to have to learn to communicate with it.
    
    Or just go hiking.
  - Reply by Anonymous on Tuesday, May 03 2005 @ 2:18 CEST
    
    BTW, my IP address is 127.0.01
    
    Hack away.
    
    I dare you to crash my box.
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 22:11 CEST

It's definitely not zillions.
Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 22:33 CEST

Open source software has come a long way, baby.
Having done yeoman's work on the infrastructure side of enterprise networks over the last few years, open source software now merits consideration for mission-critical applications.

Computer aficionados have long written their own clever little applications to solve problems they've run into on own their personal machines. Linus Torvalds developed the most famous piece of open source software -- the Linux kernel -- in 1991 because he wanted an operating system that used computer hardware resources more efficiently.

and for the whole story read this,

http://www.govtech.net/magazine/story.php?id=93795

Re: Hackers moving to other targets than Microsoft software
by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 22:12 CEST

GET A MAC!!!!!!!!!!! lol suckers.

Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 22:16 CEST

Mac users are the suckers... They prefer hype over technology, style over substance, pay overprice for underperforming hardware.

OS-X? It's simply Linux tweaked...

Oh they make you pay US$ 120 at every release of OS-X???? What a rip-off!

Mac lovers are suckers... Use Linux instead.
- Reply by Anonymous on Monday, May 02 2005 @ 22:19 CEST
  
  I can't Agree anymore with that statement. LINUX 4 LIFE. MAC users need to find out that apple stole osx free the free open source community and sells it to them when they can get a better destro for free.
- Reply by Anonymous on Tuesday, May 03 2005 @ 2:13 CEST
  
  Dude,
  
  They're not suckers. They're willing to pay a little more for a lot less hassel. BTW, the G5 runs circles around intel's stuff. MHz is not an indicator of performance except when comparing identical architactures, and even then it can be misleading.
  
  You ought to slap one of the PPC versions of linux on a mac. They haul ass.
  
  I use linux at home myself, BTW. Hopefully it'll be ready for "appliance" level desktop users soon.

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