The year 2005 appears to be a promising year for computer users worldwide, as it seems that “online life” has become safer due to a significant decrease in the number of dangerous computer viruses being spread. But is this truly the case?
As of November 2005, only two notorious computer viruses have made headlines: Mytob and Zotob. Among them, Zotob gained notoriety for targeting major media companies worldwide such as CNN, ABC, and the Financial Times.
According to statistics from a leading global security firm, in 2004, a total of 35 dangerous events were recorded, classified as Category Three and Four threats. The higher this number, the more it indicates that many users were infected due to unpatched security vulnerabilities in their systems, which were quickly exploited by viruses.
However, in 2005, Symantec has only recorded five such events.
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The primary reason for the sharp decline in the number of dangerous viruses this year stems from the actions of the virus programmers themselves. Art Wong, head of Symantec’s security response team, noted that previously, virus programmers aimed to spread their viruses as quickly as possible. Today, however, viruses are programmed to serve financial motives rather than for “entertainment.”
As a result, instead of launching large-scale attacks or massive pandemics of viruses, programmers now release computer worms that can remain hidden from users once they have infiltrated a system.
This shift also helps us understand why the number of spyware programs has seen a significant and continuous increase, infiltrating users’ computers and bombarding them with ads.
It is evident that modern virus programmers have pivoted to distributing multiple variants of their “dangerous creations” to infiltrate and steal users’ information.
“We have recorded a 100% increase in viruses classified as Category 1 and 2,” Wong stated.
This means that the number of users infected with various strains of the same virus could be comparable to the number of users infected with a single virus in the past. Thus, while the number of distinct viruses has decreased, their level of danger has not diminished. Because of this decrease, these viruses have garnered less media attention.
As a result, users feel safer, even though many are still infected with viruses. The lack of frequent warnings leads users to become complacent and neglect the security of their systems.
