Windows 8 Defeats 85% of Malware Detected In the Past 6 Months 299
An anonymous reader writes "Now that Windows 8 is on sale and has already been purchased by millions, expect very close scrutiny of Microsoft's latest and greatest security features. 0-day vulnerabilities are already being claimed, but what about the malware that's already out there? When tested against the top threats, Windows 8 is immune to 85 percent of them, and gets infected by 15 percent, according to tests run by BitDefender."
I'd take this with a grain of salt (Score:5, Informative)
The reason being it is an AV maker releasing it. They have reason to want to say "Oh the built in AV scanner sucks, you should buy ours!" They may be stacking the results.
AV Comparatives puts MS Security Essentials at about 95% in their latest test, not 85%. Bitdefender is 99.2%.
However one reason for that is false positive rate. MS is willing to trade off some detection to keep it low, because users get pissed off and want to get rid of scanners with lots of false positives. MSE had 0 false positives, BitDefender had 10.
None of this is to say getting a better virus scanner isn't a good idea, just take anything from a company selling a product in an area with a grain of salt. AV Comparatives seems to indicate that wile MSE is certainly not one of the best virus scanners, it isn't bad.
Re:No platform is 100 percent secure? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:No platform is 100 percent secure? (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, when it comes to out-of-the-box security as well as the possibilities offered to knowledgeable admins, Linux isn't really far away from Windows. Both have, from the point of view of a security expert, horrible out-of-the-box security and can be sealed tightly by the hands of good admins.
The main reason why there is less malware for Linux is simply that malware is a business: It's the same reason why there is also less other commercial software for Linux.
New OS (Score:1, Informative)
Soooo the new operating system, which was just released and hasn't yet been targeted by malware writers doesn't get infected by a lot of malware? Of course it doesn't. Windows 8 has around 1% or less of the market, almost no one is writing exploits for it yet.
Re:So, ... some built in security? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:No platform is 100 percent secure? (Score:5, Informative)
More devices run Linux than Windows. How big of a target do you need?
Ah yes. But which Linux? There is, what, 20+ major distributions and dozens or hundreds of minor ones? Even calling all of them a single OS is almost a stretch, given that some of them have almost nothing in common with each other. That's not one target, it's a few dozen. And it's hacked all the time, just rarely using automated malware tools (because, again, those aren't terribly effective against heavily fragmented targets).
Re:No platform is 100 percent secure? (Score:1, Informative)
Linux has input from a lot of less than able coders. The problem with security is that only one mistake has to slip through then you're screwed.
Re:So, ... some built in security? (Score:3, Informative)
It's not due to "WSE". Windows 8 is highly incompatible with previous versions (google for all the stuff that wont run under W8 anymore).
In most cases the fixes required are very simple and I'm sure malware developers will be catching up fast.
Re:So, ... some built in security? (Score:1, Informative)
Re:So, ... some built in security? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:How do these numbers compare ... (Score:2, Informative)
Start Menus:
Classic Shell [sourceforge.net]
Pokki [pokki.com]
Power8 [google.com]
RetroUI [retroui.com]
Start8 [stardock.com]
StartMenu8 [iobit.com]
Start Menu X [startmenux.com]
ViStart [lee-soft.com]
Win8StartButton [deskmodder.de]
Launchers:
7stacks [alastria.com]
8start Launcher [8start.com]
Appetizer [etizer.org]
Blaze [sourceforge.net]
Executor [executor.dk]
Fences [stardock.com]
Find and Run Robot [donationcoder.com]
Key Launch [konradp.com]
Launchy [launchy.net]
ObjectDock [stardock.com]
Rainmeter [rainmeter.net]
RK Launcher [cogeco.ca]
RocketDock [rocketdock.com]
SliderDock [wikidot.com]
ViPad [lee-soft.com]
Winstep Nexus [winstep.net]
XWindows Dock [aqua-soft.org]
Take your pick. This is just a small list. I know there are many more out there.
This is extra text because Slashdot is lame and says my comment has too few characters per line:
A computer program (also software, or just a program) is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer.[1] A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor.[2] The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute the instructions. The same program in its human-readable source code form, from which executable programs are derived (e.g., compiled), enables a programmer to study and develop its algorithms.
Computer source code is often written by computer programmers. Source code is written in a programming language that usually follows one of two main paradigms: imperative or declarative programming. Source code may be converted into an executable file (sometimes called an executable program or a binary) by a compiler and later executed by a central processing unit. Alternatively, computer programs may be executed with the aid of an interpreter, or may be embedded directly into hardware.
Computer programs may be categorized along functional lines: system software and application software. Two or more computer programs may run simultaneously on one computer, a process known as multitasking.