A type of
trojan referred to as SpamThru (resulting in botnets that turn out thousands of spam messages)
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Starting with Linux 1
infected a high-percentage of Windows XP systems that have been upgraded to SP2 (see
www.secureworks.com/analysis/spamthru-stats).
Of course, no matter what browser or e-mail client you are using, you need to follow good security
practices (such as not opening attachments or downloading files you don??™t trust). Also, as open
source browsers and e-mail clients, such as those from Mozilla.org, become more popular, the
number of possible machines to infect through those applications will make it more tempting to
virus writers. (At the moment, most viruses and worms are created specifically to attack Microsoft
software.)
Will You Be Sued for Using Linux?
There have been some well-financed lawsuits against Linux providers. Those with litigation against
Linux have gone primarily after big companies, such as IBM, Novell, and Red Hat, Inc. Linus Torvalds
himself is the rare individual who has been named in lawsuits. Most threats to individuals have
been vague, general declarations from proprietary software companies that claim some infringement
of their property, without being specific about what the exact infringement is.
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