Too many computer users vulnerable to viruses

Seattle Times | at | by Mike

As much as Microsoft works to protect its software from hackers and other Internet threats, there is one aspect of computer security it cannot control: getting people to use antivirus software.

The company is concerned that 70 percent of consumer personal computers do not have updated antivirus protection, said Brad Smith, Microsoft's chief lawyer, in a keynote speech to lawyers yesterday.

"It is such an obvious threat to everybody who uses a PC," Smith said. If people start to think that computers are more problematic to use, the technology industry's long-term health could be at risk, he added.