From: Alexander van der Wolk <av2139@columbia.edu>
  To  : <CPC@emoglen.law.columbia.edu>
  Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2006 22:20:54 -0500

Re: Not Exactly on Class Topic, But Perhaps Still of General Interest...

> But even beyond that, the malicious programs themselves are coded  
> to be
> specific to a given OS, and so far the amount of malware written to
> target non-Windows systems is almost nil.

Granted, the number of Windows users makes this platform a more  
interesting target, but that would mean that MacOS' and Linux'  
security only follow from the size of their user base.

Basically what it boils down to is what most internet and computer  
security boils down to: the user. It starts with general user  
sensibility, such as not randomly opening mail attachments, or  
downloading and installing any piece of cracked software you can get  
your hands on.

"The monitoring programs are often hidden inside ordinary software  
downloads, e-mail attachments or files shared over peer-to-peer  
networks."

It continues by making yourself more apt to knowing your computer.  
How it works, and how you can change certain features to increase  
your security. In this respect I think Linux and MacOS have an  
advantage over Windows as they allow the user to alter more  
preferences (at least more easily) than would with the Windows OS.

"They [the monitoring programs] can even be embedded in Web pages,  
taking advantage of browser features that allow programs to run  
automatically."

Your computer shouldn't be set up to run things automatically in the  
first place. As a user, you should be running software that allows  
you to manage it, and which encourages you to control your computer  
instead of vice versa. Creating aware and intelligent users, instead  
of what Prof. Moglen calls the 'point and grunt' users.

Alex

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