Editing 350: Network
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | [[Cueball]] shows off his virtual fishtank of virus-infected {{w|Virtual machine|virtual}} Windows machines to [[Megan]]. The machines nominally have {{w|Trojan_horse_(computing)|mail trojans}}, {{w|Warhol worm}}s, all sorts of {{w|polymorphic virus}}es, and explicitly {{w|Blaster (computer worm)|Blaster}} and {{w|w32.welchia}}. Cueball relates to the viruses as though they are fish, and hopes that they are all getting along together nicely | + | [[Cueball]] shows off his virtual fishtank of virus-infected {{w|Virtual machine|virtual}} Windows machines to [[Megan]]. The machines nominally have {{w|Trojan_horse_(computing)|mail trojans}}, {{w|Warhol worm}}s, all sorts of {{w|polymorphic virus}}es, and explicitly {{w|Blaster (computer worm)|Blaster}} and {{w|w32.welchia}}. Cueball relates to the viruses as though they are fish, and hopes that they are all getting along together nicely. |
− | + | It would be possible to set up a virtual fishtank as described. The main issue would be to make sure that you don't accidentally let anything escape from the fishtank. Consider it like a smallpox lab. Also, some viruses are quite malicious and will prevent a computer from running normally, or at all. An aquarium of dead computers would not be very interesting to watch. | |
− | + | The first part of the title text refers to the difficulty viruses have in disabling the internet as a whole. SQL Slammer had some brief success. The second part of the title text indicates that Randall believes Linux and Mac OS X are inherently less vulnerable to virus attacks than Windows, so the virus writers had better get their act together soon. The implication is that Windows will become less important and disappear, and the virus-writers' job will be much harder. | |
− | + | It is not certain how justified is this opinion. Six years after this comic was written, Windows still dominates the desktop, and in any case, the main reason that Windows has been most targeted by virus writers is because it has traditionally been by far the most popular operating system. This does not necessarily mean that Linux and OS X are harder to attack with viruses. But in all fairness, they probably are. | |
− | + | A side issue is the wild growth in 'smart devices' connected to the internet, powered by non-traditional operating systems such as iOS and Android. Desktop operating systems such as Windows, Linux and OS X are all becoming less relevant (although note that Android is based on the Linux kernel). | |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== |