On Sunday 13 June 2004 22:01, John Andersen wrote:
But Ma and Pa Polyester don't know about those, and they are hard to find and are not turned on by default. That's the problem.
OK, this is what I think. One can only provide so much hand holding. Ma and Pa Polyester must surely have heard on on the radio or seen on the tv/in the newspaper of all the worms/viri that's costing corporations millions. Now, even if Ma and Pa don't know what to do with that information, it should occur to them that there must be some danger lurking out there. I mean, if companies that pay IT guys good money to keep their systems running smoothly, still get infected, then obviously there must be some real threat. Wouldn't it be smart of them to find out a bit more? Failing all other sources of information, I'm sure the neighbour's 12 year old can point them in the right direction. :-) No seriously, people should realise what they can and cannot do. If they're not savvy enough to install windows without getting sassed or blasted, and they're too stupid to pay someone to do it, then they deserve what they get. The security problems with windows are well enough and often enough publicised that anyone who uses a computer should be aware. I spent the first three years of my IT carreer as a freelance techie - the local computer guy for a couple of households and small companies. At the very least half the money I made was a result of people's stupidity. Even after repeatedly trying to show them the right way. Instead of spending the initial amount on basic protection, they often ended up spending three or four times that on my per-hour rate to fix their resulting problems. And still they won't spend anything on basic protection. They suffer because of their own stupidity, and I don't feel sorry for them. As far as I am concerned they shouldn't be using computers. Yes, Windows is as insecure as it comes. But it takes very little to prevent against the worst threats. I'm tired of people who want to use sophisticated and powerful equipment without knowing the first thing about it. If they mess it up I really don't feel sorry for them. Just my opinion -- Kind regards Hans du Plooy Newington Consulting Services hansdp at newingtoncs dot co dot za