Malware: Fighting Malicious Code

Why Is Malicious Code So Prevalent?

Malicious code in the hands of a crafty attacker is indeed powerful. It's becoming even more of a problem because many of the very same factors fueling the evolution of the computer industry are making our systems even more vulnerable to malicious code. Specifically, malicious code writers benefit from the trends toward mixing data and executable instructions, increasingly homogenous computing environments, unprecedented connectivity, an ever-larger clueless user base, and an unfriendly world. Let's analyze each of these trends in more detail to see how we are creating an environment much more susceptible to malicious code.

Mixing Data and Executable Instructions: A Scary Combo

One of the primary reasons malicious ...