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Microsoft To Get Malware Bailout In Germany
hweimer writes "The German government plans on paying to set up a call center to help Windows users with malware infections. I think this has the effect of being a malware bailout for Microsoft, discouraging them and other software companies from writing better code and giving users little incentive to switch to more secure alternatives. How much government money is needed to run the call center is also not revealed." The call center, running in cooperation with ISPs (but not manufacturers), is envisioned to have a staff of about 40.
It should be funded by the ISPs. The ISPs should be free to charge end users rates based on the OS the end user is doing.
Like insurance rates for different drivers of different cars as end users present threats to the net based on their OS and experience the rates charged to support a malware elimination office should depend on what is being connected.
You can buy UIDs too.
Usually people go for those 3-digit UIDs but not everyone has the money for that.
Generally, if you have money to buy Apple products, you have a habit of solving your problems by shopping and you have money to spare.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
I have to disagree with that. Malware problem is usually because of user stupidity. Like any other OS, you can run Windows securely if you don't do stupid things.
Yes like
1. Spend money to run anti programs to fill in the holes left by bad code.
2. Dont download anything.
3. Dont use IE.
4. or simply unplug the computer from the internet.
But most people refuse to do any of those things. Then again they could just give Microsoft the boot.
I trust Microsoft as far as I could comfortably spit a dead rat
This. This this this.
The number of times I've had to explain to my ISPs tech support that they just need to tell me what they want, as opposed to which button in XP to click, at one point got so bad that I feel I was justified in pirating Windows just so I could dual boot into it for those idiots. I had a friend once who was getting a slow connection speed from his router to the ISP, and they told him he'd have to get Windows before they could help him, because they don't support Linux.
Normally with these places the answer is that you just ask, 'What's your favourite distro?' as soon as they pick up, and if they say anything along the lines of, 'Umm...' or, 'What?' just hang up there and then - that's what the redial button is for. With a staff of 40, unless they're thinking of paying network-admin-level Euros, maybe two of these people is gonna have a frickin' clue how to troubleshoot malware on Linux, if the Germans are lucky.
I love the idea of a malware support line not being aimed at Windows users - I mean, come on. Seriously. We can debate why, we can debate how, we can debate many, many things, but we cannot possibly pretend that malware is a serious problem for every single user of Linux or Mac or whatever that hasn't spent hours upon hours setting up security buffers and manually hacking virtualized Windows so that they can save flashsites and then run them on the virtualized system-within-a-system; that's what you get with Windows. At least, that's what I get with Windows, and I have spent more of my life than I care to think about installing firewalls and AVs and giving them custom configs and then realizing too late that I have to do it again and I should have saved the config since I regularly (see: ~ once per year) have to reinstall Windows to get some speed back...
Be smart, help people!
I have to disagree with that. Malware problem is usually because of user stupidity. Like any other OS, you can run Windows securely if you don't do stupid things.
You're exhibiting typical programmer stupidity. Hard as it may be to believe, most people in this world don't give a damn about software, they just want to get their work done. They don't want to be pestered by annoying dialogs, and they certainly don't want to understand security just in order to browse the web or use their PC without virus infestations. If Windows can't support that kind of usage (and it can't), then that's a problem with Windows, not with the users.
But any (good) Linux sysadmin knows there been worms in Linux too and remote hacks are commonplace if the system isn't properly secured (and casual users just wont do that).
It's a lot harder for a casual Linux user to make a Linux system insecure by accident than for a casual Windows user to make a Windows system insecure. Windows really is badly designed from a security point of view.