Kaspersky predicts 90 percent of malware will run on Vista

This is a worry for those looking at upgrading to Vista because of it's extra security:

Kaspersky predicts Vista security holes: ZDNet

Quote:

Antivirus experts from Kaspersky Labs have predicted that 90 percent of current malware will run on Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows Vista. Although at the moment Vista appears to be more secure than previous Windows operating systems, Kaspersky researchers warned last week that as Vista becomes more popular, it will increasingly become a target for hackers. "We're not asking whether vulnerabilities will be found, but when," said Alexander Gostev, principal antivirus researcher for Kaspersky. According to Gostev, one of the first pieces of the operating system to be attacked will be PatchGuard, the code that protects the Vista kernel. "One of the first things to be targeted will be the technology which is meant to make getting access to the kernel more difficult," said Gostev. "Particularly because there are already approaches for evaluating this technology." (continued)

Hello,

It is important to keep in mind that malicious software is, fundamentally, just like any other computer program. The difference is in the actions it takes and/or the intent of the author. In the case of an older malicious program under Microsoft Windows Vista, the user is going to see the exact same types of prompts seen when they run a legacy application. The main difference is that under Windows Vista, the user will have the opportunity to consider the consequences of running a program. For example, if the user receives an email with a malicious program attached purporting to be a picture, they will not automatically infect themselves by double-clicking on it. Instead, they will be prompted if they want to run the program. Since the prompt came up instead of their picture viewing software, this should serve as a warning that something is wrong and take appropriate action, such as cancelling and then deleting the message.

Regards

Aryeh Goretsky