The Internet is Infected

April 1, 2009 · by Eric Sorenson

Last Sunday I saw a segment on 60 Minutes about computer security, labeled “The Internet is Infected,” (available at: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4901282n). The spotlight was on Conficker, the bug of the week, but Lesley Stahl proceeded to give a pretty misguided overview of the subject of computer security in general. She left a gaping hole in her report by leaving out the fact that only Microsoft Windows operating systems can be infected by Conficker, and, of course, the same goes for nearly all other viruses, worms and malware. Instead of informing viewers of operating system options other than Windows, Lesley reports that the only way to protect yourself against digital theft is to buy expensive security software for Windows, while feigning skepticism of Symantec’s potential capitalist motivations by questioning their representative’s sincerity in touting the benefits of buying their products. It is patently untrue that purchasing anti-virus software is the only available option for protecting consumers’ computers, and she does her viewers a major disservice by insisting so; Mac OS X, BSD, and the multitude of Linux flavors do not need additional security software. Many major manufacturers preinstall these operating systems, making them readily available without any additional required action on the part of the consumer.

While Linux and BSD may be geared more towards the “geek” community, (with the possible exception of Ubuntu) Mac OS X is an excellent choice for the average consumer who is tired of dealing with a barrage of viruses and who doesn’t want to pay for expensive anti-virus software. The next time a major story is aired targeting computer security, and I’m sure it won’t be long until we see another one, I hope it will inform viewers about the full gamut of choices available to them, rather than airing what effectively amounts to an info-mercial for anti-virus software companies.

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