Are Usability & Security Opposites in Computing?

krozinov writes "Instinct tells us that computer security and computer usability are inversely proportional to each other. In other words, the tougher and stricter the security is, the less usability there is, and vice versa. However, there have been plenty of cases where both computer security and computer usability went hand in hand with each other and actually improved together. In the last few years security has been the biggest buzzword in computer systems and as such has become part of our computer systems. Before that, computer systems were all about getting it done faster and easier, but now they must also do it securely. Can the two continue growing together? This paper argues that it can, as evident by the most recent Indian Assembly Election."

Comments

Re:Well, here's an experiment you can do at home..

[Anonymous Coward]

Installed Windows XP this weekend. Found where I could download the SP2 patch on my linux box... but of course the windows update page only lets you in if you are on a Microsoft Operating System.

So I hook up my DSL connection to the windows box. Go to the microsoft page with firefox. Find out that not only the OS but also the browser has to be a Microsoft product. By the time I get around to loading up Internet Explorer I have the "system error, shutting down in 45 seconds" notice on my screen that lets me know some blaster-esque virus already got to my system. I was online for about 5 minutes *at most*.

So I reinstalled, downloaded the only non-windows-update available version of SP2 (the "developer" edition that allows installed over the network , I think) and installed that prior to going online.

To Microsoft's credit, it worked... for now.

I however fully expect to have to reinstall everything from scratch in a few months when the next gaping hole is discovered.