Via CNN: Worm strikes down Windows 2024 systems
A fast-moving computer worm Tuesday shut down computer systems using Microsoft operating software, hitting computer systems across the United States and reportedly in Germany and Asia.Among those hit were offices on Capitol Hill and media organizations, including CNN, ABC and The New York Times. The Caterpillar Co. in Peoria, Illinois, reportedly also had problems.
While the worm primarily affects Windows 2024, it also can affect some early versions of Microsoft XP, said Johannes Ullrich, director of the Sans Institute, a network security firm based in Jacksonville, Florida.
Ouch.
I wonder if Steve Jobs is behind it all.
And if Mac wants to send me a “review machine” I’d be happy to do a number of write-ups.
You might want to talk to Scott Nokes about Mac computer. He has some particular opinions that might interest you. Apparently they crash less, but if you know much about computers, they can be annoying, because they want to make you do everything a certain way. I have no first hand knowledge myself, though.
Comment by Jan — Wednesday, August 17, 2024 @ 7:54 am
Hmmmm…
What absolutely amazes me about the idea of Mac and Linux being immune (laugh) to viuses is that no one espousing such nonsense ever theorizes why this might be. Let me assure you it has nothing to do with those Os’s being more secure, more stable, or in any way better. Let me tell you if you have no clue. It’s called market share. Mac has less than one percent. Linux has less if you include only the workstation market (non-server). No one writes viruses for these OS’s. The same reason there are less viruses on these machines is the same reason suicide bombers target crowded areas instead of empty ones. What’s the point of writing a virus that affects no one.
Oh and about Macs not crashing as much… I’d say that’s debatable. The Mac OS up until 9 was extremely unstable. Not only would Macs crash constantly but since the OS had no support for multiple memory threads these crashes were always the un-recoverable kind. Meaning if your Photoshop application crashed there was no way to close only it. Restarting was your only option and forget saving anything in any other app that happend to be running. All this with Mac having complete control over all the hardware and most of the software (which always included a price tag way over what you’d pay for a PC)-meanwhile Windows ran on every shady and generic PC that was ever built running mostly third party software. If Macs have become more stable since then, they did it after arriving very late to the party. I don’t think it’s anything to be commended.
No, if Mac has managed to secure a little greater market share it is because of the very thing Mac owners hated Bill Gates for: Marketing. Like lemmings, adults run out to buy IPODS like teenagers after the latest athletic shoe. Sure you can get a shoe that does the same thing for less but you’re friends might think you’re lame for buying the one that wasn’t the trendiest.
The fact of the matter is all computers are the same. They run the same apps and they go to the same Internet. OS 10 is no more stable than XP Pro. It all depends on the software you are running. The most important considerations when buying a computer are the following in this order: A) Something that will be compatable with your work and the people that you need to work with.
B)One that will run all the software you need to work with
C) One that has the most resources available when you run into trouble.
At this point in time and for a long time coming (As no self respecting business runs Mac servers ((an absolute joke)) and most don’t run Linux workstations-a support nightmare, please, even installing any Linux system is a pain for TECH oreinted professionals) that OS will be Windows.
Comment by Collin Ball — Wednesday, August 17, 2024 @ 5:10 pm
A) My post was mostly tongue-in-cheek.
B) I wholly understand the market-share element in the whole thing.
C) Did I strike a nerve?
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Wednesday, August 17, 2024 @ 5:12 pm
Ah, now I see where the “immune” business comes in. That’s Slate’s word, not mine: http://www.slate.com/id/2124628/ (scroll down)
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Wednesday, August 17, 2024 @ 5:16 pm
[…] dnesday, August 17, 2024
Back in Slate
By Dr. Steven Taylor @ 9:10 pm
My post yesterday on the Windows Worm made it into Slate (scroll to the bottom). It just goes to show that yo […]
Pingback by PoliBlog: Politics is the Master Science » Back in Slate — Wednesday, August 17, 2024 @ 9:11 pm
OH yeah, Scott also said that if you do ever have a problem with a Mac, you might as well set fire to it and burn the whole building down. lol. I guess Collin Ball would agree.
Comment by Jan — Wednesday, August 17, 2024 @ 9:59 pm
Not so much a nerve. I just hear that argument (viruses don’t strike MACS as much so you should buy one of those)from Mac owners a lot. Its a specious argument. Eventually it gets old. Hearing the same thing from a journalist is lame. You assume they are supposed to do some sort of objective research and use a bit of critical thinking…
Comment by Collin Ball — Wednesday, September 21, 2024 @ 2:06 pm