Anti-virus is a Poor Substitute for Common Sense

madtownidiot said:

It's probably a sign of a serious lack of common sense to try to use any other complicated piece of equipment without at least glancing at some kind of manual first, so why wouldn't that apply to people who use computers?

I wish I had a $100 for every phone call I get from a customer who forgot to plug in the computer and can't figure out why it won't start up.

It doesn't require a manual to know that any electrical device needs to be plugged in. Yet, it requires a lot more than a glance at a manual to really understand a computer. Even if a person understands every word in the manual, it is only a starting point to mastering a computer and it's operations.

Exactly my point. If don't have enough common sense to check to see if your computer is plugged in before you call to have it fixed, you probably should not be trusted with a computer. And for god's sake, when it comes to computers and the internet, if you don't know what's going to happen, look it up or ask someone who knows before trying it. I don't know about anyone else, but I'd rather talk someone out of doing something stupid before it happens than have to fix it after, even if it means losing a little money.

A computer is not an automobile, which requires a license to use. Trust is not a factor in whether a person should or shouldn't have a computer.
Since it sounds as though you are a tech, it would seem that you should be happy with the ignorance of your customers...unless you sold them the computer, and they call you for free support. Of course, if you did sell them the computer, then you have no complaint, because you chose to do so. I appreciate your closing sentence, because if some of the dealers that I have had to work with in the past felt the same, my road to cyber competence would have been a lot shorter and smoother.

Of course you're right, a computer doesn't require a license to operate, although sometimes I think there ought to be one.

I'd much rather spend a few minutes explaining over the phone why it's a bad idea to install something or change a particular setting than a hour and a half cleaning up their system a week later.. an hour and a half that could be spent doing something more fun and profitable, like upgrading or building a new computer. I'm too busy most of the time to clean up all the avoidable mistakes that would otherwise happen. To me, it just makes good business sense. If someone in this line of work is willing to let someone mess their computer up, just so they can charge them to fix it, it's probably a sign they're not very good at what they do anyway and definitely not worthy of respect.

One must boot there brain before there computer. At times one must update there brains bios. (Do some learning on what to do and what not to do online.) If this brain bios update is not done and used with continuous learning there is no software added to the computer that will help much.

madtownidiot said:

Of course you're right, a computer doesn't require a license to operate, although sometimes I think there ought to be one.

I'd much rather spend a few minutes explaining over the phone why it's a bad idea to install something or change a particular setting than a hour and a half cleaning up their system a week later.. an hour and a half that could be spent doing something more fun and profitable, like upgrading or building a new computer. I'm too busy most of the time to clean up all the avoidable mistakes that would otherwise happen. To me, it just makes good business sense. If someone in this line of work is willing to let someone mess their computer up, just so they can charge them to fix it, it's probably a sign they're not very good at what they do anyway and definitely not worthy of respect.

I can well recall when I bought my first computer, and a number afterward, until I learned to build my own, and the support that I received as a new user was not existent. Almost everything that I know, as little as it is, came from the internet and forums or by trial and error. I know that good tech people exist due to internet exposure, but they don't live in my town.

seekermeister said:

I can well recall when I bought my first computer, and a number afterward, until I learned to build my own, and the support that I received as a new user was not existent. Almost everything that I know, as little as it is, came from the internet and forums or by trial and error. I know that good tech people exist due to internet exposure, but they don't live in my town.

Pretty much the same for me. I find it a bit irresponsible to sell something to somebody without showing them some of the basics of how to use it. At least there are forums and other means of 3rd party support, which I refer my customers to as a way to educate themselves, and the hacking windows books (Steve Sinchak) are a very good investment.

pparks1 said:

I no longer believe that common sense can keep you safe while using the Internet. It certainly doesn't hurt....but it is far from any type of failsafe either.

Sure, you can visit only sites you trust. But how can you trust the sites that you go to? What if they were compromised, what if there is a DNS hack that redirects you elsewhere, what if there is a banner add that includes some type of payload that exploits something on your machine????

I'm a true believer that there isn't any ONE thing that anybody can do to be safe. Unfortunately, safety involves several layers, knowledge, and often compromise between ease of use.

I agree. Once you connect to the internet with a web browser you are no longer safe and need an AV program.

The common sense part would be to not install things if you get some sort of fake pop-up (such as Antivirus 2009, etc).

Not everything about keeping your computer safe has to do with common sense, Im pretty sure most of us here have some common sense about computers. Im also pretty sure most of us have pry had a virus at least once.

Bootz said:

Not everything about keeping your computer safe has to do with common sense, Im pretty sure most of us here have some common sense about computers. Im also pretty sure most of us have pry had a virus at least once.

Once I was attacked by Antivirus 2009 while browsing the web - fortunately Avast (my AV at that time) stopped it. Otherwise the only thing that got me were keygen files. That's why I gave up messing with illegal software.

If you stick to legit websites and software then you have a slim chance of worrying about viruses/malware.