If that's the argument then I'm down with suspending this practice until such time as it has been "idiotproofed" and no longer poses serious risks to the environment and water tables.
Apple has the most brand loyal customers on the planet, every steaming pile of shit they serve up is pute gold to these people. I mean, look at the generations of iPhones, these people were literally willing to pay for the same piece of garbage several times over, each "generation" being only slightly more technologically advanced than the predecessor and all of them miles behind the HTCs and Samsungs - and yes, even Motorola's on the market. With a customer base like that Apple is indeed the goose that shits golden eggs and I don't see them getting sued out of existence I hate to tell you. My hope is that it will force them to become true innovators again and make products worth owning, but as long as they are spinning shit into gold I doubt that will happen either.
Have any other long-term Mac users noticed that the release of an OS upgrade from Apple is usually coupled with a series of random bugs in the further updates of the previous OS? hmmmn.
Ignorance aside, one of the larger and more disturbing problems with online security are the lack-luster, wholly incomplete, all-in-one security suites offered by many ISPs (Verizon, Comcast, AOL, Earthlink). These suites fully appeal to all of the best American values - they claim to offer an all-in-one solution that once it is installed you simply click and walk away. We don't need to know how to use them so there is no learning involved, they claim to cover everything so no more worrying about multiple programs to cover the vast array of computer security and best of all to Americans - they're free; and since they are usually associated with some heavy hitter in the tech-sec realm, like Norton or McAfee they are trusted. But, these are very expensive programs backed by ongoing and costly R&D and updates so it's a pretty good bet that they and your ISP have not teamed up to offer anything other than a watered down version of what is available for consumer purchase.
To further this ISPs are playing to desire as Americans to be ignorant and lazy by touting the fact that the consumer doesn't have to lift a finger but this is simply not true. They need to be updated and you need to make sure they are actually running. Not to mention that file monitors, though a great tool, need the support of regular virus scans and virus definition updates. Simply having these programs to check for viruses, spyware, adware etc. taking up space on your hard drive is not enough, they need to be run on a regular basis; otherwise free up that space on your hard drive, there is a trojan that is looking for a place to park.
Finally, in the battle for online safety and protection of privacy these "do it all" security suites are not doing anything at all in one huge, key area.....firewalls. It is still the individuals responsibility to ensure that your computer is protected in this way. With a strong enough firewall properly configured and running you should know what network connections are being made by your machine and why. Criminal activity on your machine is not limited to people trying to get in, but also to an array of hidden gremlins that watch everything you do and transmit that information via the internet back to their masters. By the time the tech-sec vigilante catch up to a new threat and update spyware scanners to find them it may already be too late to protect your machine, or your bank account. It is a strong firewall that will tell you something is trying to connect and give you the power to refuse that vital link to your personal information.
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If that's the argument then I'm down with suspending this practice until such time as it has been "idiotproofed" and no longer poses serious risks to the environment and water tables.
Apple has the most brand loyal customers on the planet, every steaming pile of shit they serve up is pute gold to these people. I mean, look at the generations of iPhones, these people were literally willing to pay for the same piece of garbage several times over, each "generation" being only slightly more technologically advanced than the predecessor and all of them miles behind the HTCs and Samsungs - and yes, even Motorola's on the market. With a customer base like that Apple is indeed the goose that shits golden eggs and I don't see them getting sued out of existence I hate to tell you. My hope is that it will force them to become true innovators again and make products worth owning, but as long as they are spinning shit into gold I doubt that will happen either.
Have any other long-term Mac users noticed that the release of an OS upgrade from Apple is usually coupled with a series of random bugs in the further updates of the previous OS? hmmmn.
Ignorance aside, one of the larger and more disturbing problems with online security are the lack-luster, wholly incomplete, all-in-one security suites offered by many ISPs (Verizon, Comcast, AOL, Earthlink). These suites fully appeal to all of the best American values - they claim to offer an all-in-one solution that once it is installed you simply click and walk away. We don't need to know how to use them so there is no learning involved, they claim to cover everything so no more worrying about multiple programs to cover the vast array of computer security and best of all to Americans - they're free; and since they are usually associated with some heavy hitter in the tech-sec realm, like Norton or McAfee they are trusted. But, these are very expensive programs backed by ongoing and costly R&D and updates so it's a pretty good bet that they and your ISP have not teamed up to offer anything other than a watered down version of what is available for consumer purchase. To further this ISPs are playing to desire as Americans to be ignorant and lazy by touting the fact that the consumer doesn't have to lift a finger but this is simply not true. They need to be updated and you need to make sure they are actually running. Not to mention that file monitors, though a great tool, need the support of regular virus scans and virus definition updates. Simply having these programs to check for viruses, spyware, adware etc. taking up space on your hard drive is not enough, they need to be run on a regular basis; otherwise free up that space on your hard drive, there is a trojan that is looking for a place to park. Finally, in the battle for online safety and protection of privacy these "do it all" security suites are not doing anything at all in one huge, key area.....firewalls. It is still the individuals responsibility to ensure that your computer is protected in this way. With a strong enough firewall properly configured and running you should know what network connections are being made by your machine and why. Criminal activity on your machine is not limited to people trying to get in, but also to an array of hidden gremlins that watch everything you do and transmit that information via the internet back to their masters. By the time the tech-sec vigilante catch up to a new threat and update spyware scanners to find them it may already be too late to protect your machine, or your bank account. It is a strong firewall that will tell you something is trying to connect and give you the power to refuse that vital link to your personal information.