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NanDog
The Pup Was Female, I'M Not
Premium
join:2003-12-28
Tacoma, WA
 ·HarborNet
| reply to SUMware
Re: AV Firms Scrambling to Keep Up
For me, the most telling statement in that Washington Post article was this one: "Experts say PC users shouldn't depend on anti-virus software to save them from risky online behaviors, such as clicking on Web links included in unsolicited e-mail and instant messages."
So true, so true!
Safe hex is more about behavior than programs but so many users think that their pre-installed AV is all the protection they need. They'll click on any link or attachment and surf to any site knowing that nothing can harm them. 
My state has just instituted a licensing program for the operation of watercraft. Perhaps a license for operating a computer should be required? I dislike that sort of control and intrusion but........?
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See ya across the Rainbow Bridge, my good and faithful friend! | |
simmery
join:2006-01-29
·AT&T Yahoo
 ·Suddenlink
| In my naive dreams, I see a world that isn't divided into stupid users and smart users. I see a world that cares more about eradicating the sources of malware so that the internet is a safer place.
We have come to the point where we simply accept the idea that the internet is a cesspool and that there are ways to swim in it that are safer than others. We also blame users who expect to swim in a chlorinated pool and don't know that they should only swim in certain parts or have special swimming equipment to keep from catching diseases. We support an entire security industry as a fact of life because we're afraid that if we clean up the cesspool, we might have to spend money or we might intrude on someone's "rights."
Someday, people will wake up and realize how completely insane this whole deal is. Grandma should not have to remember a hundred rules about what to click on or how many security programs to use or setting up limited accounts and messing with policies. She should be able to use her email without wondering whether she's going to get infected or ripped off by criminals.
Yes, this is all very naive and the internet is what it is, but I still marvel at how we continue to accept it and do nothing more than apply band-aids and divide ourselves into users with "common sense" and users who are "clueless." This does nothing more than reinforce the idea that criminality is normal. Instead of bemoaning the idea that people don't want to -- or can't -- exercise what we think of as common sense (and really is nothing of the sort), we should be putting our money and voting power into demanding a better place to swim. | |
daveinpoway
join:2006-07-03
Poway, CA
| Perhaps I, too, am naive, but, with technology advances, this could come into existence: a Unified Threat Management appliance (like a Fortigate) on a single chip. This would update itself automatically without user intervention, and would also incorporate advanced heuristics (which would actually work, unlike the crude heuristics we have these days) to tackle threats it hasn't received updates for yet. With mass-production, these could be produced cheaply enough that every motherboard could incorporate one. To make this work, the subscription cost for the update service would have to be built into the price of the equipment, so that nobody would have to remember to renew their subscription. Basically, the user would not even be aware (nor would he/she need to be aware) that this chip was present- everything would be done silently in the background.
With this "Security Chip" filtering out malware, life on the Internet would become much safer. Probably not 100% safe, of course, but way better than today's situation. | |
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