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Re: [LUG] Clueless users



On Sunday 09 May 2004 9:03, Jonathan Melhuish wrote:
But those who complain "this is crap, it should just work!" and look at
me as if all the failings of Linux are my fault and that I am therefore
personally obliged to fix it.  Those who throw their hands in the air
and boot straight back into their other OS.  Those who lack any
perseverance whatsover, who are not prepared to make an effort to get
their own machine to do what they want.  Will these people ever help me?

I wrote to another list recently that such users will eventually have to 
become extinct. It doesn't sound likely at the moment, but think about it for 
a moment. Security is not optional. Those users (mainly home users) who 
continue to want problems fixed by someone else will suffer for their 
delusion.

We all accept now that it's clunk-click on every trip. I remember when that 
was new, when it had to be forced onto an unwilling driving public with 
graphic adverts on TV. We accept involvement in other areas, personal 
involvement in your own computer security will be forced upon those who 
currently are ignorant. Mainly because their ignorance causes trouble for 
those who do care. It may take time but Linux is here for the long term and 
so are we.

In response to a similar post about someone helping out users who simply 
didn't care, I posted a contribution to another (non-Linux) list. None of 
this is directed at anyone in particular, here or on the other list. It's 
aimed squarely at those who are ignorant of their own culpability and 
complicity with recent online security fiascos.

I know everyone thinks I'm paranoid, (I'm not, they really are after you!), 
but security matters. Now more than ever. Freedom is important. Personal 
freedom, personal privacy, need to be protected. Sitting behind your PC 
thinking the world is nice and people are friendly is simply going to make 
you an easy target. Children are targets, systems are targets - systems that 
you use and upon which your personal privacy may rely. Systems like banks, 
NHS, Inland Revenue, local councils, social services, police ... These 
systems matter and if the people in charge of these systems do not feel that 
their clients WANT security, it will slip down the priority list.

Do you want a virus to infect a system running a police database? You could 
end up with bits of Ian Huntley's record merged with your details. That'd be 
a barrel of laughs.

Despite what Microsoft and other corporates would like you to think, security 
is not a product, it's a process. You cannot 'buy' security off the shelf, 
you have to learn, you must change your habits and you need to remain aware 
and alert to new threats.

It's a learning opportunity. Users NEED to learn. Users must learn. Users must 
not simply adopt, they must adapt and improve or they will become extinct.

This is an evolutionary process. The whole user environment must change.

I no longer accept that users can afford to be ignorant of their own IT 
security.

Drivers are no longer ignorant of the risks of having their car stolen.
Teachers and nurses are far from ignorant of the their professional security 
requirements.
Pharmacists are being forced to be aware of their professional security 
responsibilities, to staff and public.

I do not care (and will NOT listen) to those who whine that users simply won't 
do this. It is a fact of 21st century life that there is someone out there 
who does not wish you well. 9/11 and Madrid are testament to the fact that 
the military and the government are not the prime targets. The great British 
and US public are a genuine target as never before and for whatever motives, 
current political activity is not reducing the risks.

End.

Note the lack of smileys on that one.
(Also, by use of the word target, I am not thinking of an individual as a name 
and address but as an anonymous member of the larger group. The individual 
identity doesn't matter, it is the citizenship that draws the resentment.)

-- 

Neil Williams
=============
http://www.codehelp.co.uk/
http://www.dclug.org.uk/
http://www.isbn.org.uk/
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http://www.biglumber.com/x/web?qs=0x8801094A28BCB3E3

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