NYT, Symantec and Chinese hackers.

This past week, the NYT reported that its servers were compromised and its reporters' passwords stolen.  They pointed the blame at Symantec, their antivirus provider.  But the problem is, even if you have the best antivirus software available, you are not virus-proof; you are virus-resistant.

NO ONE is virus-proof, unless they are using a computer that is fully separated from any network and has no external access to data. Just ask the Iranians.

One way antivirus software works, is to compare files to a known file signature -- the checksum -- against a database that is compiled and updated.  This is flawed, insofar that you have to have that virus' signature already uploaded, in order to have it detected.  There are other means, by way of observing what a file does, that also allows most antivirus software to detect possible viruses, often leading to false positives.  This is not perfect either, because virus writers will implement new methods in how a virus acts, to avoid detection.  It's a cat-mouse chase, except the mice multiply rapidly.

Via AV-Comparatives: Some months are bad.

Via AV-Comparatives: Other months are good.

No matter how good (or bad) your antivirus software is, the weakest link is the operator: YOU. You are the person who clicks on links without knowing where they're going, and you're the one who opens emails from strangers, or files from friends.