Even if the risk is so small as to be vanishing, the problem with this sort of rubbish (similarly to a lot of IT security consultant twaddle), is there's still a risk. Put another way, is there no risk at all that something from SETI could cause a problem on a PC...? Answer is, yes, there's a very small risk, but it is still a risk. For the PHB types (or journalists) who don't understand how to quantify risk, this can be something to panic about. I bet that more than one IT support person has been asked by his/her Guardian reading boss how SETI can be banned from the site because of this "issue".
Anthony.
Slashdot Mirror
Even if the risk is so small as to be vanishing, the problem with this sort of rubbish (similarly to a lot of IT security consultant twaddle), is there's still a risk. Put another way, is there no risk at all that something from SETI could cause a problem on a PC...? Answer is, yes, there's a very small risk, but it is still a risk. For the PHB types (or journalists) who don't understand how to quantify risk, this can be something to panic about. I bet that more than one IT support person has been asked by his/her Guardian reading boss how SETI can be banned from the site because of this "issue". Anthony.