Re: The home user problem returns

["Paul D. Robertson" <paul () compuwar net>]

On Thu, 8 Sep 2005, Marcus J. Ranum wrote:

> > User education
> > ----------------
> > User education still needs to happen
>
> Pointless. If educating users was going to work, it would have worked
> by now. If Anna Kournikova worm and phishing hadn't gotten people

Educating users to fix the problem doesn't work.  Educating users there 
*is* a problem seems to work, just not en-mass.

Part of the prolem is that end-users are *used* to malware.  When the 
computer gets too slow, they call "that person who understands this" to 
come clean off the computer and it's ok for another 2 months.  Partially, 
Microsoft is to blame for taking the reliability out of computer 
software- the levee isn't designed for a big storm, and partially malware 
that doesn't kill its host has made these all tropical storms. (Hey, 
someone had to do the Digital Katrina thing, I've saved everyone else 
the trouble.)

Anna K. and phishing work(ed) because of the social aspects of their 
delivery- we're still trying to fight a technical battle against a social 
problem.  We have to take this to the social trenches at some point, or 
we'll be overrrun.

It's almost tempting to just migrate over to IPv6 space and start again, 
with small gated communities- even if it's just so we get a 5 year break 
between storms.

> (* source: P-nut) 

Tell him if rants like that didn't work in the past, there's no way 
they'll work now...  No, don't tell him- because all we can do is all we 
can do.  Even if it's not enough, it's still a good fight.

Computer security:  Fighting the digital Alamo from inside the fort.  We 
know how it's gonna end.

Paul
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul D. Robertson      "My statements in this message are personal opinions
paul () compuwar net       which may have no basis whatsoever in fact."

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