Contents

　　Don’t trust the outliersVulnerability on the edgeLimited and flawed optionsThe exceptions to the rule

　　(in)Secure is a weekly column that dives into the rapidly escalating topic of cybersecurity.

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　　Malware has a lot to answer for. It’s filled our browsers with nonsense advertisements, stolen our banking credentials, locked up our files, and caused the widespread crashing of countless systems. But malware is also having another unintended effect that’s just as problematic: It’s making the internet a centralized, monopolistic place to be.

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　　Intel and AMD may never make a CPU we can fully trust, but others might

　　That might seem hyperbolic but malware intentions are typically quite clear: Make the author money.

　　

More (in)Secure

Apple’s unsafe Mac App Store is simply inexcusableFaxploitation: Hackers use old-school printers to invade your home networkWhat does a high score cost you? Why one in five gamers falls victim to fraudFacebook wants to own your face. Here’s why that’s a privacy disasterIt’s been a long time since worms, trojans, and viruses were used to stroke the digital egos of the world’s greatest hackers, no matter what hat they wore. But the best practices to protect ourselves from malware can send us down well-trodden paths, leading to increasingly limited software solutions for everyone.

　　

Don’t trust the outliers

As much as we all rely on the big players like Google, Microsoft, and Apple, one of the joys of the internet is the diversity of options. But when speaking to digital security professionals, the advice they almost always give is to stick to official app stores, popular search engines, and tried-and-tested browsers. It keeps you safe by virtue of there being plenty of oversight and budget to protect those platforms and services.

　　“We recommend using official platforms,”