ZombieMeter keeps track of hacked PCs

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Privacy concerns

With all the emphasis on the "right to privacy" these days, the following statement will never fly:

"Existing customers that do not update machines with latest patches would lose full internet access"

First it's patches. Then it's 'we don't support McAfee, Avast, AVG, TrendMicro, etc. You have to run Norton'. Then it's 'Mozilla-based browsers are a threat.' Then it's 'you have digital pictures of girls in bikins...' You get the idea. Giving an ISP that kind of authority is opening the door to potential abuse way too wide.

Nonetheless, I like that you (and others) are offering ideas. Here's mine: ISPs offer FREE (as in beer) end-user training classes and educate people on the necessity to keep their computers current with software updates. Also, inform them that Windows is not their only option, and, for instance, they won't need to spend $50/year on anti-virus subscriptions if they use Linux (for now, anyway). Obviously, classes can't be compulsory, so there must be some mechanism for disabling/sanitizing 'zombie' pcs. How about a quarantined network that uses a proxy at the ISP end to conduct transactions with the internet? It will obviously be at a considerably slower speed (and this should be a condition of the SLA), but will offer the same unfettered access to the internet. Customers would be advised that their machines are quarantined until the trojan/malware is removed.

My $0.02. Bash away.

Posted by: Real World   Posted on: 05/27/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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