Weekly summary

Madrid, July 3, 2004 - This week Oxygen3 24h-365d has reported the news summarized below.

- (VI) Evolution of computer viruses (06/28/04). In 1981, almost at the same time as Elk Kloner -the first virus for 8-bit processors- made its appearance, a new operating system was growing in popularity, Microsoft Disk Operating System, although computer buffs throughout the world would soon refer to it simply as DOS. The development of MS DOS systems occurred in parallel to the appearance of new, more powerful hardware. Personal computers were gradually establishing themselves as tools that people could use in their everyday lives, and the result was that the number of PCs users grew substantially and more users also started creating viruses.

- Temperature and electronic devices (06/29/04). When electrical current passes through the semi-conductors of electronic devices energy is lost which is transformed into heat. This can increase significantly depending on environmental and climatic conditions. An increase in temperature -above the values recommended by the manufacturer- can decrease performance, cause errors and data loss and degrade the hardware components of the computer.

- Spyware, a widespread problem (06/30/04). Everyday, spyware causes major problems in users´ computers worldwide, according to data supplied by analysts in the software industry and published by vnunet.com. According to information provided by Microsoft at last month´s US Federal Trade Commission workshop, spyware is responsible for more than half of the Windows operating system failures reported to the company. However, users seldom realize that the problem is related to spyware.

- Top Ten viruses most frequently detected by Panda ActiveScan in June (07/01/04). According to data gathered by Panda Software´s free, online scanner, the Trojan Downloader.GK caused the most incidents in users´ computers worldwide in June 2004. To be more precise, Downloader.GK caused 12.75 percent of incidents followed by Briss.A, at 11.87 percent. Behind these malicious code are Netsky.P (8.34 percent), Sasser.ftp (7.29 percent) and Gaobot.gen (4.74 percent). The bottom half of the ranking includes Qhost.gen (4.68 percent), Netsky.D (3.5 percent), Downloader.HC (3.42 percent), Revop.F (3.23 percent) and StartPage.FH (2.97 percent).

- Companies and mobile devices (07/02/04). According to a survey of decision makers and mobile technology managers carried out by IDC, the top priority for equipping employees with these elements is to increase productivity, rather than any other aspect such as mobility or reducing costs. However, companies that use mobile devices should bear in mind the problems involved when considering future deployments, such as security and the challenge of integrating new elements in existing infrastructures.

Oxygen3 24h-365d, by Panda Software
© Panda Software 2003

2004-07-04 15:31

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