Windows security.
It's unfortunate that using a computer on the internet has come to this. I believe there's a bunch of people out there who have had their PC's turned into door stops by the proliferation of viruses, malware, spyware, trojans, worms and parasites that bombard the average user's machines every time they attempt to do a little surfing. I know a few who have given up on the internet.
Companies like Microsoft have dropped the ball, in my opinion. I don't think that they're alone...most software makers along with peripheral hardware manufacturers have also done a very poor job of making their products "user friendly" for the masses that purchase their goods. Installation instructions along with reasonably understandable user instructions are more often than not incomprehensible to the average home user. I feel it says something about the marketing know how or lack of it that user friendly is mostly a joke. They've had enough time to figure out how to serve their customers in a reasonable fashion and they haven't done it. Tech writing (an oxymoron) is a lost art... IMO (sorry for the rant)
As an aside, I'd like to give credit to one of the original Computer Learning threaders who was early and persistent with warnings about the hazards and threats that I'd guess all of us have since had to deal with. Some thought that the warnings and suggestions were slightly paranoid. He's proven to have been right. I'll leave him unnamed but most of the "old timers" know who I'm referring to. (Okay Mrs. Palfi, my 5th grade teacher from many years ago)... "To whom I am referring"
Anywho...here's another example of what the wild wild web has evolved(?) into. (for Windows users)
Do Windows users realize how dangerous Microsoft's own software is?
Dec. 22, 2004
By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, The Post-Standard
I heard a troubling report this week. In a family that uses a Windows PC, the father of the house was convinced his kids were sneaking off to visit Web sites that were off-limits. His proof? Spyware was flooding the family PC. It was truly embarrassing stuff -- the kind of material you get only when you surf over to Web sites no child should ever go to.
Or so he thought.
Then a Mac-using friend set up a demonstration. First, the family friend cleaned out all the spyware on that Windows PC. Then he booted up Windows and ran Internet Explorer.
That's all he did. He didn't go to any Web sites. He simply ran Internet Explorer. "We waited about 5 minutes with my hands off of the keyboard while we chatted," the family friend reported on a Web site that I monitor. "I logged off and re-ran the spyware and malware scanners. (We got) 50 hits in five minutes. He was stunned."
Do you suppose Windows users realize how dangerous Microsoft's own software is? My guess is that most of them have no idea.
I think most Windows users make the wrong assumption. They probably think Internet Explorer is safe because Microsoft is a big company and must know what it is doing. Or they think it's safe because Microsoft has been busy "fixing" Windows.
But early versions of Windows are forgotten stepchildren at Microsoft. There are no new XP-style security patches for Windows 98, for example. As you might say in Las Vegas, whatever is wrong with Windows 98 stays wrong with Windows 98. And even the XP patch has failed to make Windows safe. The latest problems with Internet Explorer show up in the patched version. And they'll no doubt continue to show up.
That's why I'm troubled.
Spyware is a problem no one who uses Windows should ignore. I've seen technicians remove nearly 1,000 spyware infections from a single Windows PC. I read a reliable account recently about a computer expert whose home computer, also running Windows, had 3,300 spyware infections when he finally decided to check it.
There's no spyware for OS X Macs. But instead of gloating, you might want to do the same kind of thing that family friend did. Windows users who discover for themselves that their computers are dangerous aren't likely to forget what they've learned. Help your neighbor track down spyware. Tell your friends who use Windows about Ad-Aware and Spybot, the two spyware removers I've recommend for many months.
Tell them that Windows computers that have no spyware protection can be turned into zombie PCs -- Windows computers taken over to relay spam, spyware and viruses during the time their owners are asleep or at work.
But don't preach about the Mac's record in this area. Just help out. Sometimes that's the best you can do.
aroundcny.com |
