Top list of the most dangerous software

A security company called Bit9 conducted an interesting survey that found that improperly updated software often poses a greater risk than viruses or other malware.

Bit9 has decided to conduct a survey to identify the most risky applications. The Bit9 report shows that the survey was not useless, as it revealed not only the most dangerous software, but also that often improperly updated applications pose a greater risk than the malware itself.

Brian Gladstein, a Bit9 staff member, said applications that were among the most popular software today were included in the studies. These programs are often installed by users in their workplaces, often without the knowledge of IT professionals. However, downloading and applying security updates is repeatedly pushed into the background, so this software poses a serious risk to the affected systems.

Bit9 based its assessment of the highest risk applications on the US NVD (National Vulnerability Database) ratings. The following software is at the top of the top list of the most dangerous applications:
1. Mozilla Firefox 1.0.7
2. Apple iTunes 6.02 & Quicktime 7.0.3
3. Skype Internet phone1.4
4. Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.02, 6.03
5. Sun Java Run-Time Environment 5.0 Update 3, JRE 1.4.2_08

Most of the software on the top list can be updated in a simple way, and the risks can be significantly reduced by applying the latest versions and security fixes. According to Brian Gladstein, in a corporate environment, the first and most important step is to assess what applications are running on computers. You can then monitor the software you need and make your companies ’IT infrastructure more secure.