Say, for a computer security journalist, this
Kelly Martin guy can really turn a phrase.
"Consider an analogy on the size of modern malicious code: if Windows XP were the size of the Empire State Building, then the little barking Beagle virus - the size of a small dog - can come in through the front door, lift its leg, deliver its payload, and somehow cause the entire building to come crumbling down. Or, Beagle can simply hold the door open automatically, so that a large cement truck can drive in and deliver its mystery payload to the base of the operating system as required."
"The latest craze in the virus-worm-spam war has seen computer worms crawling inside of other computer worms - like watching maggots crawl on top of each other as they make their way through a tender piece of meat."
"Worms are crawling on top of worms, eating out holes in Microsoft's dominant operating systems like a giant piece of swiss cheese in front of thousands of tiny, malicious rats. I do not know to what extent Microsoft's code is scrutinized through an exhaustive security audit, but two years after Bill Gates' long-heralded announcement the holes in the cheese are larger than they've ever been. "
*Okay, so maybe that mixes a metaphor or two,
but come on, that's computing for you. I've got
a tiny "trashcan" sitting on my "desktop."
