If every hour a burglar turned up at your house and rattled the locks on the doors and windows to see if he could get in, you might consider moving to a safer neighbourhood.
And while that may not be happening to your home, it probably is happening to any PC you connect to the net.
This article from the BBC shows how vulnerable XP Home really is. Using a highly protected XP Pro machine running VMWare, the BBC hosted an unprotected XP Home system to simulate what an ‘average’ home PC faces when connected to the internet.
SEVEN HOURS OF ATTACKS
=> 36 warnings that pop-up via Windows Messenger
=> 11 separate visits by Blaster worm
=> 3 separate attacks by Slammer worm
=> 1 attack aimed at Microsoft IIS Server
=> 2-3 “port scans” seeking weak spots in Windows software
Wow! That is too much for normal home user. This is why you need to switch to Linux desktop system. Sure, geeks or experienced IT pro can use Linux easily but what about new people.
Not everyone can run Linux (no matter how hard you try). The solution is simple:
=> Purchase firewall enabled broadband/wireless routers.
=> Install Windows XP firewall and antivirus.
=> Don’t visit or open unknown emails; if possible use web based email system.
Found via Slashdot
