Monday, January 15, 2007

being cautious online

i found this interesting quote from rixstep by way of the security protocols blog:
People regularly download software they cannot claim they trust and just run it with no thought for the consequences. Yes, it's 'only' a computer - but listen to them wail if something goes wrong. They're living in their rose (pink) coloured world and are totally unaware of the threats lurking outside in the dark.
this is incredibly true and more people need to become aware of this... maybe not so much that they learn the exact extent of the threat that each online activity poses, but at least know that everything they click on online has the potential to download something onto their computer, that every time they download something to their computer it is fundamentally the same as putting it in their computer, and that everything they put in their computer (regardless of the source, because even microsoft has been known to inadvertently distribute malware in the past) has the potential to do bad (maybe even costly) things...

if people just used the same care when putting things in their computer as they do when putting things in their mouths, their computers would be a lot safer...

my suggestion to everyone is this: avoid that which that you don't know you can trust, and if/when you discover you put your trust in something you shouldn't have then you need to adjust their expectations for the next time...

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