Tuesday 4 October 2011

No Computer Viruses: an end to malware?

I received the following press release yesterday:
"CORRY, Pa. (MMD Newswire) October 3, 2011 - - "No Computer Viruses: No Antivirus Software Needed" (ISBN 1466274077) by J. Lynn takes readers through more than 25 years of computer technology history and offers a comprehensive argument for virus and malware prevention through the use of non-Windows operating systems."
It will be interesting to see the content of this book, which is not yet available but promises to be on Amazon.com in the near future.

J Lynn's solution to malware

I hope it's not going to just advocate, "install Linux and forget about malware" because, as many of us know, malware is not restricted to the Windows platform. I'm struggling to think of a current consumer computing platform that does not have at least basic malware samples available in one form or another. I'm pretty sure that IOS, Android, Linux and Mac OS X all receive their fair and generous share of security updates.

I am also pretty sure that if the majority of computer users migrated from using Microsoft operating systems to Some Other Operating System (SOOS) then we'd see a slew of SOOS malware before long. Nevertheless, the press release (emphasis and paragraphs added for clarity) continues:
"According to Lynn, Microsoft computer operating systems inadvertently grant administrative permissions to intruders in an effort to improve user experience while browsing the web. Moreover, Lynn argues that virus protection firms are well aware of these inherent flaws* and offer an endless series of costly solutions to the PC-owning public. 
With this in mind, Lynn offers detailed instructions for obtaining and installing alternative operating systems. Lynn contends that this system offers far more sophisticated protections for users, is extremely inexpensive and won't require frequent and expensive updates
This new system can be installed without removing your current operating system. Then you can choose if you want to keep your current system, replace it, duel (sic) boot both systems, or only use the new system when you want temporary protections in place for your computer before logging on to the Internet."
I've not read this book. I don't know what solution Lynn is offering. I want to know and I will find out. But I predict that I will be disappointed.

* I would hope so. I pity the security firm that doesn't understand software vulnerabilities.

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