From the San Francisco Chronicle (Friday, January 11, 2008):
Unpatched Software Flaws Put PCs at Risk
Ninety-five percent of personal computers are vulnerable to attack by hackers due to unpatched flaws in their software applications, according to data released on Wednesday by Secunia, a Danish security vendor.
The data was collected this month and comes from 20,000 computer users who used Secunia's tracking tool, Software Inspector, for the first time. The tool runs off Secunia's Web site and tracks which applications on a user's PC are insecure, meaning they have a hole for which a patch has not been applied.
The report is the latest development in the continuing battle between hackers and computer users. Software flaws have increased the past several years, say several security researchers, making it more challenging for PC owners who are trying to keep their machines secure.
According to Secunia's data, less than 5 percent of the scanned computers had software applications that were considered secure. About a quarter of the computers had as many as five flawed applications, and another quarter had as many as 10. Forty-two percent of computers had more than 11 insecure applications. About 1.8 million applications were scanned.
There are plenty of examples of troubled software...
Indeed, there are.
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