Windows XP Pro: The Missing Manual, Second Edition

The Dark Side of Windows XP

Despite all of the improvements, Windows XP doesn’t come without its share of controversy. Let us count the ways in which the new operating system has raised eyebrows and hackles.

Security Holes

Since the first edition of this book—in fact, since Windows XP itself first appeared—the landscape of Windows computing has taken a disconcerting jolt toward the nasty. Almost everyone connected to the Internet has encountered one or more of these upsetting no-fun creations:

• Viruses. Online lowlifes write hundreds of new viruses and Trojan horses each year, each designed to gum up the works in Windows for as many people as possible. Viruses are getting more damaging, more frequent, and more expensive to clean out once your PC is infected.

• Spyware. This relatively new category of evilware gets downloaded to your hard drive secretly, piggybacking on some more legitimate download. You might think you’re downloading a perfectly safe game, but it actually contains a secret program that runs without your knowledge. It may monitor what you type, it may serve as a remote-control tool for hackers, or it may actually send files and information from your PC back to whoever created the spyware.

• Hacker attacks. Hackers aren’t especially interested in your grocery lists and letters to Congress. Instead, they prefer to use automated sniffing software that looks for unprotected PCs. If they get into yours, they can turn your PC into a relay station that makes it harder for authorities ...