MyDoom 2004 is a lethal virus that became the fastest spreading yet created. Not only does it allow hackers control over your computer, it also has a particularly nasty function that allows it to steal passwords and intimate details such as your credit card information.
As if the biggest assault ever on consumer confidence in online purchasing was not enough, it was revealed on Feb. 12th this year that a portion of the program code that powers MS Windows (2000 & NT 4 only) has been stolen and passed on to tens of thousands of would be hackers as well. Experts say that the theft of the source code makes even more vulnerable the millions of computers that the industrialised world depends on in order to run. At the very worst, this will mean that hackers will find it easier to create even deadlier viruses and worms to allow them to do virtually anything they want. The best case scenario is that the damage caused by the code theft will be limited, since most of the flaws in the MS programs should be fixed by now.
While terrorism is stealing most of the headlines these days, it is cyber-terrorism that most ordinary people will actually feel the effect of. Besides investing time and money in making sure your computer security systems are kept up to date, exercise caution when it comes to opening any file attachments (even from known email addresses) or sharing any data storage device.
