Eli5 why are computer viruses so rare now? Back then you can get a fleet of viruses just by clicking a link
In: 6
The internet several years ago was much less protected than it is now. For instance, major email providers do virus scans of attachments to help make sure they are safe, and they automatically disable content from other servers that could be used to spread malware. Unsafe plug-ins like ActiveX and Flash that were used for video and games and other things have been discontinued and safer ways of giving content to users are in place. A lot of the internet now revolves around like a couple dozen major websites that are all really interested in giving a safe browsing experience to users, whereas back in the day you could browse to Joe Schmo’s privately hosted photo gallery and potentially download stuff that way.
There is a difference in the software too. The big name Browsers are open source and people are constantly poking and prodding at them to report weak areas for the developers to fix faster. And at least Windows has a built in anti-virus to protect computers.
So long story short, people have to get a little more creative with their malware, which they do through things like apps for mobile phones that do dangerous things in the background without you knowing.
Latest Answers