A Christmas Computer Bug, and the Future of Files

Let me tell you a Christmas story OR, a Yulehist, because this one is from a time when

computer

file names were limited to eight characters. It is December 1987, Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States, Margaret Thatcher was the British Prime Minister and home

computer

s had indeed become a reality for the few that had them, however, they were not really connected to other machines. We were still two years away from the Internet being invented. And at a small university in Germany a student was writing one of the first big computer worms. It was called "Christma." Simple program, just ran on an old text type. um, now an old text-based computer Back then it was the last one.

It only showed a piece of text shaped like a Christmas tree. But while the user was watching, he checked the 1987 version of the computer's contacts and sent an email to everyone. the addresses it contains "Let this 'exec' run," it said - 'exec' is an executable, a program that you start - "and enjoy" By modern Ransomeware and Identity Theft standards, this was quite a virus. innocent, although it was copied so well and convinced so many people to open it that it took down one of IBM's networks for a few days... and that was when IBM was still a major player.

In fact, he did it twice and resurfaced three years later. , presumably someone forgot what it was, then looked through their

files

and opened them: "Oh yeah, there's that funny little Christmas card again." Which brings us to a question. These types of attacks are still possible now, on modern hardware. Is not the same. program, but there is still so much malware spreading, that you convince the user to download a program and then run it and get access to everything on the user's PC: Internet, webcam, personal documents, EVERYTHING. Email is no longer a good way to spread this sort of thing, but websites that offer pirated downloads do the job just as well.

And yes, there are other methods; in fact, there are zero-day attacks on Flash, many zero-day attacks on Flash. . In fact, at this point it's almost all zero-day attacks on Flash. Zero day means no warning is given, zero days from when the virus is released and infects people, and Adobe tries to patch Flash, again; There are other methods, but ultimately, if you say, Hey, to a user Free music, free pirated software, free Christmas wallpapers for your PC, whatever you want, you can have them download something and run it, and then it's over. . There are some measures in place today: Windows has user account control and built-in antivirus and Mac and Linux have administrator accounts and permission control, but if malware tries to do something to important parts of the system, it will stop as long as the user doesn't just press the OK field or type their password, but let's be honest, it happens a lot more often than it should.

But even without permission, even if the virus you downloaded can simply use your account and

files

: can it still do it? causes a lot of damage, it can encrypt all the files on your personal drive, all your photos and business contracts and lock them until you send Bitcoins to an anonymous and distant person. For the computer naively running a program, there is no difference between a virus doing harm. and the user who deliberately runs something to do the same. You can't create a filter against malicious behavior like that without having a near-perfect model of what the user is thinking and what he might want to do.

There are times when you honestly want to delete everything on a computer. However, there is another way out and we use it all the time. On an iPhone, for example, each app has its own separate area for storing data. There is no central area that all applications can access at once. Imagine that the PC is made like this: all reports or tasks performed in Word are only available in Word. And if you want to send a report to someone. or convert to another program. Do not go; If you want to attach the file in an email program, don't go to the email program, press "attach" and review your centrally stored documents; you open Word. and you ask Word to send a file to the email program.

All your music will only be available in the program you downloaded it in until you send it somewhere else. And right now, all the technicians who are watching this, all of you. you're out there saying. "Oh, that would be terrible, that's kind of ugly, that would mean we wouldn't be free to use our computers as we wanted. How am I supposed to chain together these three different programs to do this weird thing I'm supposed to do?" and I understand it. I honestly understand it. I wholeheartedly support this type of carelessness and for anyone who deeply analyzes their system, who knows this type of advanced fashion, it is necessary.

But why don't we build these types of systems, the ones that are not so technological? differently? Because we never had the chance. The PCs we have today are descendants of the old systems from 1987. Back then there was not enough space or power to give each application its own little silo and manage it separately; Furthermore, in many cases the programs were simply written ones and zeros. The computers were for academic use, for professionals, so they were really expensive pieces of equipment that had to be treated with care. But for the modern normal user, for people who are attacked by Ransomeware and for those who lose their entire family. photos: I'm not sure the system will work for you.

Do normal computer users really need to see C drive or Macintosh HD? Should they worry about folders and backups? We have that system because it has to work with previous generations because we have never had a clear break with PCs. Even Apple, which has said its users are moving with the times, gives them a few years of forgiveness to keep up. and damn, Windows still happily runs programs from twenty years ago. There was never an option to start over. If they ever stopped using that metaphor of file folders in a central location, and it has been promised many times, all the old programs. will stop working But for all the new devices we've had in recent years?

For tablets, phones and Chromebooks, with their systems locked? Behind the scenes, it is guaranteed that they will still use the folder and file system, but it is not visible to the user. As these types of devices become more and more popular and the market share of PCs begins to decline, at least for home use: Maybe we can leave it there, the old system and computer security will be a little better. Except. One of the reasons Britain now has such a strong tech industry is the home computer boom of the 1980s, when BBC Micro and ZX Spectrum founded a generation that could program the

future

as well as read it.

Locking down computers and systems can make everything more secure: you can't write iPhone apps on an iPhone and someone has to write iPhone apps, so it doesn't matter if you're hoping for a new laptop with files and folders, or a new phone with separate data silos or perhaps something a little less high-tech under the Christmas tree: Merry Christmas to you. And it doesn't matter if it's digital or physical, it doesn't matter if you write programs or paint art or just build a snowman: here's something for the next thing you do and we'll see you in 2016. : Ulrik Jellum