Another zero-day threat hits Windows

TalkBack 40 of 71:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

Silly rabbit

There is a saying that goes "Social Engineering... Because there is no patch for human stupidity." It is all too true. I use Windows exclusively on my computers as do my aged parents. My mother who first held a mouse in her computer at the age of 55 manages to understand that one should not go to websites that say "CLICK HERE TO WIN A FREE IPOD/PORN/XBOX/$1000000!!!", that one should at least have some caution when opening .exe's downloaded from the internet and that one shouldn't visit sketchy sites unless there's no choice. If she's managed not to get a single piece of malware using WinXP (automatic updates on), Windows Firewall and for the past 1/2 year Windows Defender, I don't understand why others have such a difficulty in keeping themselves malware free. Furthermore she uses IE (beats me why - she says it works faster) although I managed to convince her to gert IE7, note that it is still your most-hated browser. Is it really the car manufacturer's or cell phone maker's fault that people talk on cell-phones and get into crashes? Hardly, much in the same way if one goes around being stupid about their use of the computer, Microsoft can hardly be blamed for it. A beautiful example of this is KaZaA - it was widely known to have copious amounts of spyware and to infect one's system with all sorts of "goods" most notably Gator, and yet at some point it had become the most popular file-sharing client out there. Anyone have an explanations? Didn't think so. As stated above, there is simply no patch for human stupidity. The reason that Linux has such a low infection rate is that it's mostly used by techies who know better than to open files named copy_of_KIDDIEPORN_31415926536.exe and that it hasn't yet reached the point of critical mass where it is the hacker's preferred target due to market share.

Posted by: moonchacha   Posted on: 09/30/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Smarter ways to make smarter products IBM Smarter Products is about creating products that integrate into our lives ... Download Now
• Email Security and Archiving - Clearer in the Cloud Google The time is NOW for businesses and organizations of all sizes to implement ... Download Now
• Selecting the Right NAS Appliance for Your Workgroup LAN Dell Data storage is a major concern for enterprises today. Network attached ... Download Now