From: Kenneth Canfield <ksc2103@columbia.edu>
  To  : <cpc@emoglen.law.columbia.edu>
  Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2006 16:11:26 -0500

Re: Not Exactly on Class Topic, But Perhaps Still of General Interest...

Bryan Brooks wrote:
> ...  Cyberthieves silently copy keystrokes.
> 
>  
> 
> http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-6043433.html.  Does anyone know if Linux
> is significantly better than Windows or Mac OS at limiting the
> effectiveness of these programs?

My only semi-informed thoughts:  I think the issue is how the program
gets onto your computer.  I think that Outlook, for instance, is
notorious for opening attachments/running programs without you first
approving it. ActiveX also permits web code to be run without your
permission, I think, if you are using IE.  The Windows Autorun "feature"
also allows for the running of executables on CDs without your
permission, but I doubt anyone is distributing malicious key loggers via
CD.  So in those respects, programs associated with Windows may be more
dangerous, but I would suspect that if you use an email client like
Thunderbird and a web browser like Firefox, you'd be no more at risk
than with Linux or OS X.  But even with the MS products, I think users
can set them up so the code isn't run without their permission.

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