Are viruses, malware winning the security battle?

Virus programmers seem to know no limits when it comes to creative ways of making the Internet unsafe. Rootkits, originally programmes designed to help computer administrators, are the current bugbear for security firms trying to prevent them from sneaking worms, trojans, and viruses past anti-virus programs.

There is no stock recipe for detecting malware. Virus authors work hard to stay ahead of their pursuers. To close that gap, most anti-virus programmes perform what are known as heuristic scans to look for general virus behaviour patterns.

Firewall software is recommended as an additional security measure. This allows the computer user to at least partially control what is being sent and received by his/her computer. At minimum, the Windows firewall function should be activated.