It's going to happen... be it by a terrorist organization, a government or plain old thieves, a computer virus will be written in my opinion that will paralyze businesses across the world or worse yet bring our or another nation to its knees.
I am the director of IT for my company and it is a constant effort to keep our systems and our data safe. What I find is as much as I preach about protecting your home computers with anti-virus and anti-malware programs I have people all the time coming to me asking if I can help remove the virus from their home machines. You would think it would be common sense and an easy thing to do but it would amaze you at the number of unsafe machines sitting in everyone's homes waiting to be infected and become carriers of an electronic plague.
If a car manufacturer had a flaw that endangered its owners or others the manufacturer would correct the flaw. If a drug maker had a problem with a medication and it endangers those taking it then it would be recalled. I believe that it should become law that makers of computer operating systems such as Microsoft should be made to install as part of their operating systems antivirus and anti-malware programs that do not expire and do not rely on the expertise of the home user to update the protection. They have provided a product that is flawed and because of its dominance in the world as the leader in operating systems that run our banking, business, retail and home computers should be made to provide protection before the nation is brought to its knees with the very software they have sold to us. It could still be replaced with any other anti-virus software available but for those that never give it a second thought after they purchase their computers it would be a protection that is seriously missing and putting us in danger.
