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PCs attacked 'four times every hour'
Monday, 09 Oct 2006 10:36


Internet users are becoming increasingly vulnerable to computer
hacking, new research has found.

An investigation conducted by the BBC News website into net-based
attacks on personal computers using Microsoft Windows software found
that they could be targeted as frequently as every 15 minutes.

Under the experiment, which saw a home computer left switched on and
connected to the internet for seven hours, the unprotected PC logged a
"malicious attack that could render it unusable" at least every hour,
the BBC said.

The study was conducted to coincide with the re-launch of a government
campaign aimed at increasing public awareness about internet security.

A second survey released by the Get Safe Online campaign found that
people now feel more vulnerable to net crime than they do other types
of criminal activity.

The ICM poll, which questioned 1,317 adults with internet access last
month, found that 21 per cent of internet users felt at most risk from
net crime, compared to 16 per cent who said that burglary was the crime
they felt most vulnerable to.

But despite their fears, the research shows that consumers are
continuing to make purchases and manage their financial arrangements
online without taking the suitable precautions.

The Get Safe Online study found that British shoppers spent more than
£13 billion online during the first six months of the year, while 52
per cent of those questioned said they did their banking over the
internet.

However, 17 per cent of internet users admitted that they had no
antivirus software on their PC, while 22 per cent had no firewall and
23 per cent said they had opened an e-mail from an unknown source.

Nonetheless, concerns about internet crime have led many people to stop
using the internet to buy products.

Of those questioned, 18 per cent said they would no longer shop online
due to their fears, while 24 per cent said they had been deterred from
using internet banking as a result of rising net crime.

Commenting, head of the Get Safe Online campaign, Tony Neate, said that
internet users could take simple precautions to avoid being targeted by
web criminals.

none wrote:

> An investigation conducted by the BBC News website into net-based
> attacks on personal computers using Microsoft Windows software found
> that they could be targeted as frequently as every 15 minutes.

Huh? I get some connection attempts to 135/TCP and 445/TCP every minute,
usually with 4 SYNs at once.

> Under the experiment, which saw a home computer left switched on and
> connected to the internet for seven hours, the unprotected PC logged a
> "malicious attack that could render it unusable" at least every hour,
> the BBC said.

WTF? They're connecting a PC with known vulnerabilities ("could render it
unusable") to the net? Stupid!

Well, what about installing patches and configuring it correctly? Then
there's nothing wrong with being unprotected, as it doesn't need any
"protection".

> The study was conducted to coincide with the re-launch of a government
> campaign aimed at increasing public awareness about internet security.

Yeah, such researchers should be fired for their incompetence regarding
internet security.

> However, 17 per cent of internet users admitted that they had no
> antivirus software on their PC, while 22 per cent had no firewall and
> 23 per cent said they had opened an e-mail from an unknown source.

And what exactly is wrong with that? I don't have any virus scanner, I
don't have any firewall, and I have no problem with opening strange
e-mails. Yet my box is probably a hundred times more secure than an
unconfigured and unpatched system with all this pseudo-security stuff
installed.

> Of those questioned, 18 per cent said they would no longer shop online
> due to their fears, while 24 per cent said they had been deterred from
> using internet banking as a result of rising net crime.

If they would just recognize that it's their very own stupidity that
creates their problems...

> Commenting, head of the Get Safe Online campaign, Tony Neate, said that
> internet users could take simple precautions to avoid being targeted by
> web criminals.

What a nonsense.

Sebastian Gottschalk wrote:

>
> If they would just recognize that it's their very own stupidity that
> creates their problems...
>
Come again? I mean, if they're really stupid, they would be incapable of
recognizing themselves as the problem, n'est pas?

optikl wrote:
> Sebastian Gottschalk wrote:
>
>>
>> If they would just recognize that it's their very own stupidity that
>> creates their problems...
>>
> Come again? I mean, if they're really stupid, they would be incapable of
> recognizing themselves as the problem, n'est pas?

No. Many are kids. Many are old.

the 100$ laptop has a good essay on how they are doing
security on those so that the users never have to 'be
computer savy'.

please see

http://www.technologyreview.com/read...93&ch=infotech

Rick Merrill wrote:

> optikl wrote:
>> Sebastian Gottschalk wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> If they would just recognize that it's their very own stupidity that
>>> creates their problems...
>>>
>> Come again? I mean, if they're really stupid, they would be incapable of
>> recognizing themselves as the problem, n'est pas?
>
> No. Many are kids. Many are old.
>
> the 100$ laptop has a good essay on how they are doing
> security on those so that the users never have to 'be
> computer savy'.

Phishing, bad user input (like misusing MSIE as a webbrowser despite the
documentation telling that this is totally stupid) and lack of willingness
to understand at least the most fundamental operation concepts (no, if your
monitor crashes, your data are not gone!) are social problems, but not
related to lack of special interest on computers.

"Sebastian Gottschalk" <> wrote in message
news:...
> none wrote:
>
> > An investigation conducted by the BBC News website into net-based
> > attacks on personal computers using Microsoft Windows software found
> > that they could be targeted as frequently as every 15 minutes.
>
> Huh? I get some connection attempts to 135/TCP and 445/TCP every minute,
> usually with 4 SYNs at once.
>
> > Under the experiment, which saw a home computer left switched on and
> > connected to the internet for seven hours, the unprotected PC logged a
> > "malicious attack that could render it unusable" at least every hour,
> > the BBC said.
>
> WTF? They're connecting a PC with known vulnerabilities ("could render it
> unusable") to the net? Stupid!
>
> Well, what about installing patches and configuring it correctly? Then
> there's nothing wrong with being unprotected, as it doesn't need any
> "protection".
>
> > The study was conducted to coincide with the re-launch of a government
> > campaign aimed at increasing public awareness about internet security.
>
> Yeah, such researchers should be fired for their incompetence regarding
> internet security.
>
> > However, 17 per cent of internet users admitted that they had no
> > antivirus software on their PC, while 22 per cent had no firewall and
> > 23 per cent said they had opened an e-mail from an unknown source.
>
> And what exactly is wrong with that? I don't have any virus scanner, I
> don't have any firewall, and I have no problem with opening strange
> e-mails. Yet my box is probably a hundred times more secure than an
> unconfigured and unpatched system with all this pseudo-security stuff
> installed.
>
> > Of those questioned, 18 per cent said they would no longer shop online
> > due to their fears, while 24 per cent said they had been deterred from
> > using internet banking as a result of rising net crime.
>
> If they would just recognize that it's their very own stupidity that
> creates their problems...
>
> > Commenting, head of the Get Safe Online campaign, Tony Neate, said that
> > internet users could take simple precautions to avoid being targeted by
> > web criminals.
>
> What a nonsense.

If desktop configuration and maintenance is part of your living, I suppose
what you say is true. But it is not what I do for a living. If your box is
safe, why not sell that set up and get rich? I'd be curious to know how
that could be done. I'd probably love to buy a pc like that.

"Sebastian Gottschalk" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Rick Merrill wrote:
>
> > optikl wrote:
> >> Sebastian Gottschalk wrote:
> >>
> >>>
> >>> If they would just recognize that it's their very own stupidity that
> >>> creates their problems...
> >>>
> >> Come again? I mean, if they're really stupid, they would be incapable
of
> >> recognizing themselves as the problem, n'est pas?
> >
> > No. Many are kids. Many are old.
> >
> > the 100$ laptop has a good essay on how they are doing
> > security on those so that the users never have to 'be
> > computer savy'.
>
> Phishing, bad user input (like misusing MSIE as a webbrowser despite the
> documentation telling that this is totally stupid) and lack of willingness
> to understand at least the most fundamental operation concepts (no, if
your
> monitor crashes, your data are not gone!) are social problems, but not
> related to lack of special interest on computers.

On the other hand, if my help desk gave attitude like that, I'd probably
complain about them.