Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/10/05
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Fundamentally the way computer viruses work is that they take advantage of the ability within many computer systems for one program to meddle with the insides of another. In ordinary Windows systems, and in Macintosh systems prior to OS X, the protection between programs is rather like the yellow line down the middle of a highway: its role is just advisory. The behavior of a computer virus is rather like suddently deciding to steer your car acros the yellow line into oncoming traffic, for the purpose of disrupting things. Windows XP and Mac OS X both have solid and reliable foundations that are rather like a concrete retaining wall between lanes of a highway: it's almost impossible to cross over. Unfortunately, many of the applications programs that people are enchanted with on Windows systems, especially Outlook and Outlook Express, embody features from the bad old days that can enable viruses to propagate even without damaging the host machine. In other words, on a Windows XP machine, if you foolishly click on a virus attachment, it may well be that the virus does not succeed in infecting your machine, but it can send copies of itself to all of your friends even if it isn't able to get you. You can be a carrier of the disease without being a victim. Virus writers are generally lazy, and it is a lot more work to write a virus for Mac OS, especially OS X. So they don't. But if an OS X virus ever comes along, it could propagate through your machine even if it didn't infect it. - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html