Shame on you! Report: Users lazier than ever about security practices
Shame on you! Report: Users lazier than ever about security practices
Posted: 12 Sep 2013
Security risks are growing ever larger, but a study says people are paying less attention than ever to computer security.
The NSA is in our in-box, malware is everywhere, and Web sites are getting knocked off by hackers ever other day. So you might think us computer users would be trying to take better care of our home computers. You would be wrong.
At the @Microsoft Conversations event in Washington DC on September 12, 2013, Microsoft released its latest Microsoft Computing Safety Index (MCSI) results for worldwide consumer computer security. The results were awful.
The MCSI is a tiered security scoring system. It was first developed in a 2011 study sponsored by Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Online Safety group. The survey contains more than 20 steps consumers can take to help protect themselves online. The more steps the user reports taking, the higher the online safety score; 100 is the highest rating possible.
Would you care to guess what the average score is in the United States?
When it's becoming harder to pick out legit antimalware programs from the fraudulent ones, when more of the good ones charge a fee, and when only one of four web browsers offers a proper Javascript blocking plugin.... plus the fact MS Windows updates lately have been buggy beyond belief and have caused severe issues for more than a few PC users, up to and including making some computers unable to boot, I'd say much of the fault lies in confusing company practices.
Is this AV software safe or is it a scam? Why does this one find these infections but the others ignore it? Should I update my Windows with these new patches if all these other people have had severe issues with those patches?
Though I'd still pin much of the blame on Microsoft for not making their OSes more secure to start with, but after the 360 RROD and cheap build incident, I guess they think it's cheaper to fix a broken thing than to make it properly from the start. But even though I've used Windows for years, I do so because it's a cheap OS and if you want to play games, you have no real choice. Linux just isn't up to Windows par and Mac is not a gaming platform.
Computer Type: PC/Desktop System Manufacturer/Model Number: Gateway DX4822-01 OS: Windows 7 Home Premium x64 CPU: Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.6 GHz Motherboard: stock factory for this model Memory: 6 GB Graphics Card: stock factory for this model Sound Card: stock factory for this model Monitor(s) Displays: Dell P2010Ht Screen Resolution: 1600 x 900 Keyboard: Logitech Mouse: HP 3-button optical wheel mouse PSU: 300 watt Cooling: 80mm case fan, CPU fan, 60mm front intake Hard Drives: 1 TB Western Digital Internet Speed: fiber optic Antivirus: MSE, SuperAntiSpyware, Malwarebytes Free
"Specifically, only 59-percent are using anti-virus software (a must on Windows systems); 40-percent are using firewalls; 47-percent are updating their operating systems; and a mere 29-percent use secured Wi-Fi for their networks."
And those who take no security precautions actually have the gall to be upset when their data is stolen, or their systems are hijacked. Do they get mad at themselves? Nooooooo, of course not.
Why does everyone feel the need to blame the security of the operating system? Secuirty has been prioritized by Microsoft since Windows Vista.
90% of the time, it's the user not having safe web browsing habits and not bothering to install Windows Updates or update their virus definitions. I've had no problems at all installing any of the Windows Updates.
Pity there wasn't a link to the survey. It would have been interesting to take it to see how I'm doing.
I agree. Would've been a fun thing to do
When someone comes to me with security issues I always recommend them to install MSE and MBAM and run scans with both tools on a weekly basis (and a scan with ESET once every few weeks or when they think something's off). Most of the time I also tell them to put their UAC to the highest settings, completely remove Java and leave any P2P programs alone.
But I guess that most computer users are so computer illiterate they only realize that they're infected when find their data stolen and accounts compromised. Sad sad truth.
Why is Linux much more secure than Windows? Maybe due to the fact that it has no executable files. I run Windows 7 and I am behind a Nat router , I use AIS 2014 which includes a software Firewall. Oh, I also still use SpywareBlaster so there is not much more that I can do. I have read reports that Windows 8 and 8.1 are less secure than Windows 7. So heal thyself MS!
Why is Linux much more secure than Windows? Maybe due to the fact that it has no executable files...
That's the same argument Mac fanatics have been using for years and now they are finding themselves faced with increasing attacks. It has to do with the percentage of people using an OS. Until recently, OSx had been too small a percentage of users to waste time writing malware for; Windows has a much larger playing field. Another reason why Linux is more secure is it's less complex so has fewer opportunities for security holes. Also, Linux users are more knowledgeable on how to avoid infections (Linux users have to be more knowledgeable, period).
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