License to surf?

[arcticpenguin]

Should a license be required before you're allowed to go online? Anick Jesdanun explores the idea: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=528&ncid=528&e=3&u=/ap/20030911/ap_on_hi_te/digitally_informed

Having a child is a much larger responsibility, and yet you still don't need a license for that.

[jimlintott]

That is one of the stupidest articles I've ever read.

I'm speechless.:confused:

[Philip]

I voted no, but I don't think the article is stupid.

It seems to me that the author is not seriously suggesting a license be required for computer use but is just discussing the idea to make a point about how foolish so many computer users are.

When blaster came out my firewall software was detecting several port 135 scans a second from computers on campus whose owners hadn't kept them up to date or had a firewall.

Then when sobig came out, I got hundreds of viral email messages. The problem was amplified by campus mailing lists; any infected computer that had a mailing list address sent viral emails to the mailing list address which were then forwarded to everyone on the list. The campus mailservers' virus filters removed the actual virus from almost all the email, but viruses made it on campus through the mail at the beginning of the outbreak and were also brought on campus by newly arriving students.

I am foolish enough to run Windows and Internet Explorer, but i keep all my software up to date including my antivirus and internet security programs.

I do have to admit that one time I somehow let in an adware program called "Bargain Buddy" that started a popup ad with every new page.

[magimix]

There definitely needs to be a concerted effort to educate users (regardless of the architecure/OS they user) about security. And I have to admit, as someone who started in Tech Support and is more Sysadmin now, the thought of *compelling* users to demonstrate some degree of competence and knowledge is tempting. I can't see it happening though, and part of me says it shouldn't (at least, not in anyway would criminalise people simply for being naive).

Certainly when we advise people about their home setups, we stress a number of things:

Try to persuade them to buy kit that will NAT them if possible (for ADSL users, etc)

A software firewall

A half-decent AV solution (that gets regularly updated)

Keeping up to date with LiveUpdate (and whatever a non-windows equivalent might be for other OSs)

Brain-wash them into being paranoid about email attachments; disabling auto-preview, etc, etc.

Use of AdAware and Spybot

Etc, etc really.

[jimlintott]

Here is why I think the article is stupid.

Most of the problems discussed in the article are not user problems. They are operating system problems. Users should not have to know anything to use the internet, their computer should be smart enough to protect them.

The very first sentence talks about hapless users spreading virusses. Most virusses spread themsleves with the user being totally unaware. The problem is an OS that allows this to happen. Anti virus software is a big scam. Your OS won't protect you so you have to buy software. AV software is about as effective as a condom with a hole in it. The problem being that first the virus has to be written, then identified by the AV company, who has to determine how to catch it and clean up. Then issue an update which our hapless user has to install. By then the virus has already started to do damage.

It is trivial to write a batch file that will erase the contents of a hard drive. Both in *nix or Windows. The difference is that Windows will happily run it just because it has a .bat extension. In *nix the name doesn't matter but you have to deliberately give the file the correct permissions to let the OS know that it should execute this file. Additionally for most home users their version of Windows will happily run the batch file and delete every file on the disk. In *nix the user will get a whole bunch of permission denied warnings and only lose their own home folder and possibly any other folders where they have been granted the proper permissions. This basic level of security is what is the big problem. When I first started using Linux, file permissons gave me some grief but now when I use Windows I feel like I'm driving a car without seat belts.

Some points in the article are true. Protecting your password and copyright infringment are problems regardless. Some people don't properly protect their bank pin number, keeping it written on a piece of paper in your wallet next to your bank card is not very secure.

I don't agree with blaming the hapless user for problems on the internet when the real problem, in my opinion, are the weaknesses of a very ubiquitous operating system. A system that doesn't provide the most basic levels of security and expects you to beef up the security with add on third party software. Available at a price of course.

I better stop before this begins to sound like a rant. :D