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The Elephant in the room

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    The Elephant in the room

    Thousands of online banking customers have accounts emptied by 'most dangerous trojan virus ever created

    About 3,000 online banking customers have been victims of a computer virus attack that empties their accounts while showing them fake statements so the scam goes undetected.

    Experts have described the attack using a 'trojan' virus as the most sophisticated and dangerous malware program ever created.

    The cyber criminals stole an estimated £675,000 between July 5 and August 4 and the attack is still progressing, experts warn.
    But, whose at risk?
    More than 100,000 PCs in Britain have been infected with other forms of the trojan virus.
    PC?

    McAfee Inc, the security software maker, said production of software code known as malware, which can harm computers and steal user passwords, reached a new high in the first six months of 2010.

    McAfee said total malware production continued to soar and 10 million new pieces of malicious code were catalogued.
    Computers?

    Apple users run their OS on computers too. Are they at risk? McAfee responds:
    It also warned users of Apple's Mac computers, considered relatively safe from virus attacks, that they may also be subjected to malware attacks in the future.

    'For a variety of reasons, malware has rarely been a problem for Mac users. But those days might end soon,' a spokesman said.
    "relatively safe"? Relative to what? "in the future"? How soon? "those days might end soon"? Again, how soon?

    And why mention Apple SPECIFICALLY and say NOTHING about the real problem?

    Maybe it's the bank and their systems that are fault?

    Bank systems are hard to attack so they're having to go through the easier link in the chain, which is the customers.
    The problem isn't a vulnerability of the "bank systems", "PC"s, or Apple's computers, or "computers" in general. It's the poor, ignorant, uninformed or misguided bank CUSTOMERS! That's it ... blame the user.

    So, should the bank should ban its customers and thus eliminate the problem? Can't do that. It will kill their profits.

    What about FireFox users? Is that proof that FireFox is just a vulnerable as IE so a secure plugin is needed for it?

    You'll notice that the plugin is an EXE. It's for Windows!

    The ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, that is NOT mentioned in the story on the MOST SERIOUS online banking Trojan keyboard logger threat yet seen, is the vulnerability of the Windows OS. That banks must rely on a special Windows executable which customers must download and install, and it is even free, is also a tacit admission that proprietary AV software cannot protect the Windows OS. IF it could all you'd read about was "upgrade to the latest dat file release ..." stories.

    It appears that the Daily Mail, not willing to lose the Microsoft ad money, censors their stories to exclude the name of the OS that is the real problem, and in doing so show their concern is more for their own profits than the financial welfare of their clients. They are not alone. Media outlets hopeful for MS ad funds regularly refrain from mentioning The Elephant in the room.

    Someday soon I predict that Windows users will ban together and file a class action lawsuit to challenge the suppression of information VITAL to the security of their financial welfare, or, they will wise up and switch to Linux or Apple.
    "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
    – John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.

    #2
    Re: The Elephant in the room

    Yes, it is common to assume that there is no solution and other operating systems don't exist. Sometimes I think that there is some kind of collusion between major media and Microsoft. I have seen some banks suggest that users use a Linux live CD for doing their banking, which is indeed a very simple solution. For a major paper like the Daily Mail to not mention such an easy fix seems disrespectful of their readers.

    Does the Daily Mail want their users to have more problems? Perhaps they do, because that creates more headlines and more money for the paper - and that's the other elephant.

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