Uses For A Hacked PC
May 30th, 2009 by ComputerBob
Regular readers of this Journal know that I’ve been using Linux full-time instead of Microsoft Windows since July of 2006.
For security, I use Linux’s built-in firewall — that’s all. Linux is designed from the ground-up to be far more secure than Windows. That’s one reason why Linux powers a big percentage of the computers that run the Internet.
Back when I was a full-time Windows user, I was really careful to practice safe computing. And I used all of the most-popular third-party applications to try to secure my PC against viruses, trojans, rootkits, adware and all of the other threats that exploit Windows’ numerous security vulnerabilities.
Yet, my PC still got infected by a virus-infected email message that was sent to me by a relative’s PC without that relative’s knowledge or permission.
And that was nearly a decade ago, when there were thousands of fewer threats out there than there are now.
Nowadays, many experts claim that any unprotected Windows PC will become infected by one or more types of malware within a few minutes of being connected to the Internet.
If you’re a Windows user, the odds are really good that one or more of the following is true:
- You’ve spent a lot of time and money adding third-party software to your PC, to try to plug Windows’ swiss-cheese-like security.
- Your PC has been infected by one or more types of malware — one or more times. You’ve realized it, and have taken tedious and expensive steps to solve the problem — one or more times.
- Your PC has been infected by one or more types of malware — one or more times. You haven’t realized it, so your PC has been used by other people for nefarious purposes without your knowledge or permission.
My point is that if you’re a Windows user, there’s a very good chance that your PC is not only infected with one or more types of malware, but it’s also being used by others to do illegal activities and infect other Windows PCs without your knowledge or permission.
What types of things could your Windows PC be doing behind your back? Take a look at The Scrap Value of a Hacked PC and then read some comments about it by Slashdot’s members.
Permalink:
http://www.computerbob.com/wp/uses-for-a-hacked-pc.php
Tags:
Consumer Info, Cybercrime, Internet, Linux, Security, Software, Tech Support, Windows