Paul Ewald, an evolutionary biologist at University of Louisville in Kentucky states his conviction, in one interview with Discover Magazine that, that by 2050 the human species will have found that between 80% and as high as 95% of cancers are caused by viruses. [more inside]
posted by mdpatrick on Sep 30, 2009 - 19 comments

All cancers are parasitical, but most cancers aren't contagious. But some evolve to be. Most viruses parasite cells, but some then make their own "cells", and othr viruses evolve to parasite those. Evolution is stupidly clever^erer. [more inside]
posted by orthogonality on Aug 6, 2008 - 19 comments

Curious about what creepy crawlies your kids might be bringing home? Follow the real-time trends for all of the best respiratory and enteric (GI) viruses! [more inside]
posted by scblackman on Dec 17, 2007 - 11 comments

A widget of mass destruction (warning: clicking this link will install a widget) may be the answer to all those who have been fervently wishing or imagining that Mac users will soon experience the joys of viruses and worms... if, that is, you have taken the leap of faith to upgrade to OS X Tiger and can't get enough of Dashboard (last 2 are Quicktime video links). Konfabulator was the precursor -- there is a Windows version available (shareware).
posted by indices on May 8, 2005 - 49 comments

Putting his money where his mouth is regarding the recent Symantec (Norton Utilities, Anti-Virus etc.) Mac OS X virus claims...? Seems not to be, but the fellow who was sponsoring the $25,000 reward has a, shall we say, checkered past. Mac users are still waiting for the first real attack. I could live without it, but this particular religious war (however insane and inane it can get) does liven up our computing experience. If the pop-unders at MacDailyNews get around your browser's pop-up blocker, go here.
posted by indices on Mar 26, 2005 - 14 comments

I often say that blogs are currently where the web was in 1998, with history repeating itself only this time with blogs. The latest sign: spyware and viruses are now being transmitted via blogs, specifically, random blogs on blogspot.com, found via the "Next Blog" button. Remember, just because a delightful purple gorilla wants to read blog entries to you doesn't mean you should click on him.
posted by mathowie on Feb 21, 2005 - 29 comments

Microsoft's newest version of Windows.... billed as the most secure ever, contains several serious flaws that allow hackers to steal or destroy a victim's data files across the Internet or implant rogue computer software. The company released a free fix Thursday.

A Microsoft official acknowledged that the risk to consumers was unprecedented because the glitches allow hackers to seize control of all Windows XP operating system software without requiring a computer user to do anything except connect to the Internet.
posted by bkdelong on Dec 20, 2001 - 60 comments

W32/Vote@MM - -is being called "low risk" according to McAfee
posted by scotty on Sep 24, 2001 - 8 comments

Latest Internet/Email Worm found by anti-virus company, Central Command, whom then sent out the press release announcing the worm along with information on how to purchase their anti-virus software. Is it just me, or does this cry, "Let's create a worm and then announce it along with links to buy our software!"
posted by physics on Aug 30, 2001 - 4 comments

New Microsoft Bug Found This one's pretty serious. Because it affects the whole world.
posted by PaperCut on May 20, 2000 - 13 comments

What with HTML mail having the ability to do evil things to you, it was beginning to look like the "Good Times" virus wasn't so much of a hoax after all. But now, it turns out you can get something a lot worse in your email.
posted by Steven Den Beste on Mar 24, 2000 - 0 comments