60 Minutes on Malware
60 Minutes ran a story on the latest malware threat yesterday. The name of the threat is not important because there will always be a new piece of malware, just as there will always be a new James Bond super villain. One thing won’t change: The best protection is proactive common sense.
Watch CBS Videos Online
Incomplete Story
Leslie Stahl does a good job of describing the malware problem, but this story is terribly incomplete. Symantec and SecureWorks offer decent solutions. But there are several common-sense steps that users can take to protect themselves against malware.Vint Cerf offers a big one: Don’t click through to a site when you’ve been given a clear warning to avoid it.
This story essentially says “fire is bad – fire will burn you” without telling the viewer how to choose a good fire extinguisher. The best protection is proactive common sense. Revisiting the fire metaphor: Don’t smoke in bed, and build your house from bricks instead of straw.
Only Windows is Affected. Mac & Linux are Safe (for Now)
Finally, Stahl failed to mention one major piece of information: Only computers running Microsoft Windows can be infected by the Conficker worm. Mac OS X and Linux are unaffected. I would hate to think that this omission is due to the presence of a sponsor. Symantec, a large publisher of Windows anti-virus software, played a major role in the story and they bought an ad within the above video. Is it possible to maintain journalistic integrity when a story participant is also a sponsor?