Operating Systems + Viruses

We've jumped from talking about operating systems to talking about viruses, malware, spyware and their solutions...antivirus software.  We weren't required to blog in week 2 so I didn't, ha, but I'd still like to reflect on some thoughts about operating systems first. 

When I was pursuing a degree in programming (2000-2003) I completed a few courses that dealt with hardware and operating systems.  Times have sure changed since then.  Both in the way operating systems function and the way that courses are able to be taught.  I remember dealing with DOS and Windows and making little .bat files to perform certain tasks.  We had 3.5" floppy disks that we brought back and forth to class.  The only thing I ended up remembering about Linux was that everything was treated as a shared file, even devices.  We didn't have access to any computers running Linux - we just learned about it from a book.  I remember talking about BASIC when we discussed the Mac OS.  Fast forward to today.  The obvious prediction back then was that there would be new versions of the current operating systems already out there and maybe a new OS or two.  However, DOS and BASIC have gone from being able to be accessed fairly easily, to running in the background, to being phased out completely.  Networking is part of operating systems and not a special OS (Windows NT?), there are completely new OS's from Apple and Microsoft, Linux has what seems like a thousand different flavors and Android is fast becoming the trendy new kid on the block.  Not to mention all of the different implementations of these OS's on various mobile devices, tablets, and other gadgets.  Just think - I can set up an OS to run inside of another OS (Linux inside of Windows), I can set up a machine to be capable of being "Dual-Boot" (Apple machine with both the Mac OS and Windows), or I can just make a bootable USB/Flash Drive with an OS on it that I can carry around in my pocket from PC to PC.  That's a lot to keep up with. Geesh.

The antivirus topics we talked about this week were pretty familiar.  I just finished teaching a 3 part unit on Internet Safety (Privacy, Cyber Bullying, Viruses/Malware) so this info was fresh on my mind.  There are times when my middle school classes can get restless when I go into lecture mode, but this was not one of them.  This topic really hits home for a lot of them and I was thrilled when many of them were sharing their personal experiences with viruses, etc.  I have had just about every possible virus-related scenario happen to me or my computers through the last 10 years or so.  I've had spyware, adware, my credit card account has been hacked twice, my email has been hacked, my computer hard drive even got erased in one instance.  I am a lot more educated about these things now and I haven't had anything major to deal with lately but even if you are careful, you're still bound to have something slip through the cracks.  If you are a PC user, that is.  That's why reviewing antivirus software was informational for me.  I've just been using the Security Center software that comes with my Internet service (McAfee) since it is free and seems to work fine.  After doing some research, though, I discovered a few titles that I had never heard of and was pleasantly surprised to learn that they are extremely powerful and in most cases, affordable.  There are even packages for Mac users because contrary to what some Mac users think, they can also get viruses.  While it is in fact true that Macs get viruses a lot less than PCs it is not because they are more secure.  Rather it is because Macs are owned in approximately 12% of US homes that have a computer. (as of Oct, 2009)  Why would a troublemaker make a virus that will only effect 12% of the US when you can target 80% of computer users by targeting PCs with the Windows OS?  They wouldn't.