End User Education - Waste of Time? 4

For years now, I've been watching people obstinantly refuse to learn even the basics of computer operation. Many even seem incapable of grasping the concepts. How many people do you know that insist on opening every single e-mail they get? How many are utterly "click-happy" and go after every pop-up and ad they see? I've come to the conclusion that systems will never be safe until we can take the end-user out of the equation somehow. I'm forced to agree with this article:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1573180,00.asp

What do others think?


Jeff
The future is already here - it's just not widely distributed yet...

 

[MasterRacker]

orypecos,
Merely viewing email is downloading something to your system since the browser brings it down as a temporary file. If your Yahoo mail is displaying as HTML (full graphics - looks like a web page...) then you are wide open to hidden gif tracking bugs, malicious Javascripts, etc.


Jeff
The future is already here - it's just not widely distributed yet...

 

[orypecos]

I have yahoo set up so "Security: Block HTML graphics in emai messages from being downloaded."
I also have zonealarm, adaware, and spybot. I just did a virus scan with a free McAfee for 90 days program with a web update and it didn't find even one virus.
Should I still be worried, or if everyone did what I have done can everyone throw there anti virus software away, or at least no pay for the updates.

 

[MasterRacker]

If you know enough to do all that, you are far ahead of a basic user. I don't know how Yaho mail is with javascript blocking, etc. but it sounds like you're pretty safe.

I would never advise anyone to throw away virus software, and AV without the most current definitions is worse than useless, since it gives a false sense of security. However, in a home environment, AVG's free AV program works well.


Jeff
The future is already here - it's just not widely distributed yet...