Tips for avoiding 'smash and grab'
by Lou Dolinar in Newsday. October 16, 2005. If someone can get physical access to your
computer, they can learn all your passwords.
Plague
carriers: Most users unaware of PC infections October 25, 2004 CNET
News.com. About 80 percent of users were infected with Spyware. One in five users had an active virus on their machines. Nearly three in five users do not know the difference between a firewall and antivirus software.
The same survey was also
reported by USA Today.
Blue Screen of Death Why your computer still crashes. By Paul Boutin in Slate September 30, 2004
In The Cybersecurity Wars, The Good Guys Are Losing June 7, 2004
by Bob Evans in Information Week. Quoting: "The ugly truth is that these bad guys are getting better at their malicious tricks faster than we are able to devise ways to block them."
Internet attacks can hit your pocketbook
The Globe and Mail of Canada. June 9, 2004. Your ISP may charge you
thousands of dollars for bandwidth caused by a virus or worm on your
computer. They might also suspend your account or your ability to send
email.
Geeks Put the Unsavvy on Alert: Learn or Log Off
The New York Times February 5, 2004. As the MyDoom virus continues to disrupt business, the computer-savvy are becoming openly hostile toward the not-so-savvy who
play into the hands of virus writers.
Keep cool over computer hassles
Nine out of 10 computer users are regularly annoyed by slow, crashing machines, while time wasted fixing problems makes it worse, say security experts Symantec.
BBC News. October 23, 2003.
Security Begins at Home
by Stephen Manes in the September 15, 2003 issue of Forbes magazine. An
excellent article that mirrors this class.
Heart of Darkness, on a Desktop
About programs running on people's computers that they did not know were
there. Spyware, Adware and viruses. The New York Times By Katie Hafner September 4, 2003
Where
Do We Go from Here? by Dan Gillmor August 31, 2003. About the sorry
state of computing: viruses, spam, ISPs, Microsoft and more.
Dumb software for dumb people
Windows is fertile ground for virus plagues, especially when users refuse to take proper care of their computers.
By Farhad Manjoo in Salon. August 27, 2003.
As
the Worm Turns: Lessons from Blaster Microsoft deserves some blame for
the rapidly spreading Web virus -- but so do network administrators, ISPs,
small businesses, and individual PC users. By Alex Salkever in Business Week
magazine. August 26, 2003
Microsoft Windows: Insecure by Design The Washington Post August 24, 2003. Quoting: "In its default setup, Windows XP on the Internet amounts to a car parked in a bad part of town, with the doors unlocked, the key in the ignition and a Post-It note on the dashboard saying, Please don't steal this."
Unholy Matrimony: Spam and Virus
Their common goal is subterfuge, and by combining their strategies, they could make today's junk e-mail look like a mere nuisance
Business Week Magazine August 12, 2003
Nuclear plants warned of computer threat.
Even (especially?) nuclear power plants have to worry about Windows
computers linked to the Internet. USA Today. September 3, 2003.
The September 2003 issue of Consumer Reports magazine reports that one
third of the time when you contact a software maker for technical support
the problem remains unresolved. They blamed the situation on industry
culture that turns out flawed software. When
good software goes bad CNN August 8, 2003.
License Computer Users
By John C. Dvorak in PC Magazine. August 18, 2003. The rantings of someone
sick and tired of computer mistakes by people with no training in how to use
a computer. A virtual ad for this class.
Acquitted Man Says Virus Put Pornography on Computer
The New York Times August 11, 2003. by John Schwartz. A man's teenage son
goes to some "iffy" web sites and they end up with many Trojan
programs on their computer. The police arrest the man and his life is ruined
because a Trojan program put child pornography pictures on his
computer. (alternate
link)
Owner takes out frustration with a sledgehammer
A man in Wisconsin purchased a $2,600 Gateway computer and had problems with it. He returned it to the store five times and had someone come to his house to fix it four times. Eventually he took it back to the store with a large sledgehammer and pounded it to death in the middle of the store. April 3, 2002
PC Defense Takes an Antinet
Install all the utilities you want--security is still a leaky mess. by Stephen Manes
from the July 2003 issue of PC World magazine
Take the digital defense test to see your current level of Defensive Computing. ZDNet.
September 25, 2002
High tech's missionaries of sloppiness December 2000. Salon Magazine.
An excellent article that examines why computer hardware and software have so many bugs.
Top Ten PC
Blunders. True and mortifying tales about computing disasters. June 2002
The Fog of XP
PC Magazine By Lance Ulanoff August 6, 2003. Out of the blue Windows XP
crashes and won't restart. Read how even computer experts struggle.