Seems to me that “Oh God, learn to maintain your fucking home computers!” isn’t as logical a headline for what the OP described as “Good lord, why haven’t people switched to Macintosh computers yet?” or “Why does the law not crack down on the makers of spyware?”
Complaining that a typical computer user doesn’t know enough to get past a problem that shouldn’t be a problem in the first place is blaming the victim here.
Sure, but this is the real world. If you live in a bad section of town and leave your doors wide open when your not home, don’t be suprised when you get robbed.
Since in the real world, not maintaining your computer will have it running like crap in very short order… the OP is a valid rant.
The thing is, only about half of this actually has to do with spyware and other internet-related ills; a bunch of it is basic computer usage and maintenance like regularly defragmenting and not allowing any and every program that you install to let something run in the systray; every piece of crap realplayer, weatherbug, quicktime, etc. that you install wants to put one there that will constantly run and suck up CPU cycles. On relatives’ computers that have been in use for a few years, it’s not uncommon for me to see 30+ things running down there, bringing the entire computer to a screeching halt - and that’s before the spyware and other junk comes into play.
Yeah, one of my tasks in this life appears to be wandering from computer to computer, defragging and compacting, installing Ad Aware, setting the antivirus to actually update and run now and then, and pointing out that a person probably doesn’t need 4 different audio players. Oh, and walking through the secure wireless network setup, and suggesting that “password,” “change,” and “qwerty” are not clever passwords at all.
A few starters:
Whenever you install a new program, you should basically uncheck everything and say no to everything other than “install the basic program that you’re trying to install.” These days, every single damn program wants to install a bunch of extra crap, then put something in the system tray (the little icons down there next to your clock) that will run all of the time, sucking up your CPU power. There’s no reason for these things to be running; when you want to use the program, you’ll simply launch it in the normal way. If you want to be shocked at how much quickly and smoothly you can make your computer run, go to [Window XP directions follow] Start Menu, then “run,” and type in “Msconfig,” then “ok.” Hit the “startup” tab at the top, then choose “disable all” and “apply.” Restart your computer and poop yourself at what a difference that little tweak made; you probably had a ton of garbagey programs running down there, slowing everything down.
Don’t install any extra addon crap in your browser - no toolbars, no special search helpers, no nothing! They’re all crap and are all completely pointless when you could just do the same thing on your own (is it worth it to have yahoo toolbar bring your browsing to a screeching halt just so that they can update with “wacky” headlines?)
Except, in the real word your comparison does not hold water.
It’s obvious to a normal person that locking a door keeps people from coming it, as you can look at a door and be able to open it and realize that if you don’t latch it in some way anyone else can do that. People don’t know by looking at a computer how bad programs can get on it, or the deviousness to which the spyware people to to get that stuff on there, nor the fact that this kind of nonsense is seemingly accepted by all sorts of people who could be doing things to try to put a stop to it in the first place instead of blaming the victim. Demanding people to know the ins and outs of how computers work was fine back when it was a hobbyist field requiring specialized knowledge. The computer manufacturers and software programmers are the ones who have the knowledge, and they are the ones who keep the doors wide open.
Blame the people who are supposed to know better and who could do something about it but don’t, not the people just trying to use a computer for what it was sold for.
The thing is, you have a distorted view of what should be basic knowledge for using a computer. To most people it’s like suggesting that it’d be basic knowledge that you shouldn’t watch more than four channels on the same night, and that you should regularly let it sit for an hour with PBS turned on just to clear out the signal.
If the programmers know something shouldn’t be done or that something else should be done, they should be programming the system to do it, remind people and then walk them through it on screen, or change things so it’s not a problem in the first place.
Thank you. Bookmarked. I just read a few items in the Firefox explanation, and they’re easy to understand. I’ll try forwarding this to my parents, too. I’m the first to admit that I don’t know much about computers, but I’m the tech support for my parents. This scares me. Mostly I just defrag and run their antivirus program while I visit them, though.
This is absolutely correct. As a software developer for about 25 years, I have always made sure to leave as few land-mines as possible. The number of things the user is required to manage, maintain and be aware of on the predominant consumer operating system is much higher than the level required in some enterprise software I have used despite having better economies of scale.
Properly created software for consumers should require minimal knowledge other than knowledge directly related to the value added function being performed by the software.
Disk defragmentation is one example of something a consumer should not need to manage or initiate.
Thanks.
I have now. Thanks.
Thanks! That was my understanding.
This puzzles me. Reason being that for a while I ran Ad-Aware almost daily and got 30-some results. Then I got lazy and ran it weekly. Same result. In fact, whatever I did, same result. So I lazed off for a while and then did it after several months. Again it was 30 or so. And never has there been anything more serious than those tracking things. I was thinking just the other day that spyware makers must be slowing down or something.
Then again I never click on popups and I never download wierd stuff. I’ll only download recognizable stuff that has had a review someplace reputable. And I’m not a music or movie downloader.
Now my stupid NAV has run out and I can’t install 2007 because it requires *&^% Win XP, maybe stuff’ll try to get me but I don’t even open email attachments unless I’m expecting them so maybe it’s my caution that is keeping the computer from harm’s way? I’ve pretty much quit runing Ad-Aware. And Spybot would find one dumb little thing more than Ad-Aware so I quit that ages ago. I don’t know what to think.
Certainly, but by that point you’ve already got something on your PC, which is why it’s advisable to keep an AV program running. Granted, spotting something making an outbound connection can be a useful way of seeing if you’ve got malware on your PC, but by that point it’s really too late (since the software could presumably just turn off the firewall if it’s running with admin privileges). A NAT router and an AV program should really see off pretty much any threat.
Basically it sounds like you’re a careful user, who isn’t likely to get crap on their machine. The only “spyware” you get are tracking cookies, which aren’t really spyware at all, and are just flagged up by most adware removal programs for the sake of completeness. I haven’t run an adware program in ages, and don’t feel bothered by it. If someone else were using my computer as well as me, I’d probably start, but just being sensible about how you use your computer is by far the best protection.
If you still want virus protection (and I think it’s a good idea), try AVG Free from Grisoft. Much better than Norton, and unsurprisingly, free.
AVG’s Anti-spyware prog seems to pick up much more crap than either AdAware or Spybot. I downloaded it without realising I’d clicked on that link instead of AVG’s anti-virus – and kept it ever since.
There are three good reasons why you have this experience. One: You have an old version of AdAware that is not being updated, but you haven’t noticed (I find that on many computers). Two: You aren’t getting the latest updates, which means your protection is declining. Three: You surf a site or sites that install the 30 routines every time it finds you don’t have them, but if it detects them already in place, doesn’t add any more. The only way you can avoid this is to use a blocker.
Many of the things AdAware detects are pretty benign except to the paranoid. They collect demographic data and are pretty harmless. I feel it’s an invasion of privacy, but it’s unlikely to be targeting you or me specifically.
I have to chime in with the folks who believe the problem stems more from the producers than the customers.
Do you criticize car drivers for not knowing how their car engine works, or how to personally maintain or repair it? Folks can have a perfectly satisfying and fulfilling car owning experience by simply knowing how to operate the controls, and to bring it in for service on a certain schedule.
My complaint with computers and software is that they are set up to do too much - no matter who buys it. My preference would be that computers and softward be made available with only relatively barebones functions up front, with the ability to be modified by those more sophisticated users. Instead, it seems the burden is placed on the least sophisticated users to modify and maintain their equipment in a way to keep themselves out of trouble. Which strikes me as somewhat backwards.
Here’s an example. In my job I basically create typed documents all day every day. I have been using Word and WP to do so for the past 15+ years. So I’m not exactly an ignorant neophyte.
I just opened up WP. Across the top 2 toolbars contain approximately 36 icons. Of those 36, I regularly use 14. Without dragging my cursor over them, I can probably figure out another 5 or 6. So after 15 years of regular use, I can identify maybe 2/3 of the functions that are automatically present when I open this program.
Yes, I know that I can “customize” my toolbars and hide unwanted icons, but I really am not interested enough in learning how to do that. Plus, it seems that every once in a while I will accidentally change my toolbars, just by hitting some combination of keys, clumsy mouse use, or putting something down on my keyboard. Then there is the fact that everytime our network gets “updated” what I see on my computer gets subtly changed. And my Word and WP keep getting updated, although I could crank out my basic text documents just fine on whatever we used 10 years ago. Whatever they are doing to “improve” these products is of absolutely no use to this longtime fulltime user.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to hide everything other than the basics, and then enable those folks who know how and want to do more to enable those functions?
I also suspect that a great deal of updates is essentially planned obsolescence - just to make folks buy new stuff.
As far as the internet is concerned, I am largely ignorant of what the issues are and how they could be combatted. I defrag when things seems to slow down, pay for my security, try to avoid stupid missteps, and keep my fingers crossed. But I’m not aware of any other technology (or household appliance) that the user is required to learn so much about in order to use it safely at a basic level.
After years of having to deal with relatives and friends jacked up computers I got tired of it and wrote a ‘How to maintain your computer’ doc. The document covered all the basics and had links to spyware programs and tons of screen shots. I sent it out with a little disclaimer that said I was still willing to help but they first needed to read the document, install some sort of AV and if a problem did crop up they needed to follow the basic troubleshooting steps in the document before contacting me. It worked wonders. I still have to fix stuff from time to time but it is almost always something complex enough that I understand why the person is having a problem with it.
The next step is that I am having anyone who wants my assistance setup Netmeeting so I can dial in remotely and just fix the stuff. I have a couple people already setup with this and it saves a bunch of time.
Slee
Thanks to you and to Dead Badger. I’m thinking I will do that, but first I have to manage to pry the last vestiges of an old Internet Security plus the latest versions of NAV out of my system.
I’m starting to think I should get a new box with the most recent XP (at cheap post-Christmas prices) and hang on to it while users spend a couple of years debugging Vista. I hadn’t really paid attention, but checked the other day and realized I have a mere 128 meg of RAM :o . I’m having the odd random shutdown and I expect it’ll only get worse for the next while and I’ll have more trouble finding compatible software (a pox on Symantec for not making NAV 07 backwards-compatible).
I was thinking I’d go a new machine with Vista in a year or so but I’m not hearing glowing joy over Vista so maybe top-end XP’s the way to go for the next while. I don’t like XP much but since dear Unca Bill has us all by the short-curlies, I guess it’s my only option.
There’s some nice Dell bargains these days so I might just do that. Got a couple more days to decide before the sales end.
Depends on how you connect the router to the computer. If you connect the router to your network adapter you are OK. But if you connect it via USB, then the router has the same IP with the computer and therefore you are vulnerable to external attacks.
And Spybot and Adaware are ineffective for heavily infected machines. My favorite method of disinfection is starting the computer in Safe Mode and using Hijack This.
Sure it’s not individual user’s fault that these things exist. It is 100% the fault of the producers of this crap and I’d support legislation or vigilante violence to correct the problem.
But in the mean time, this is still the real world and viruses, adware, malware, trojans, and all that stuff do exist. If you connect a Windows machine to the internet without protection or basic maintenance, you WILL get infected and your computer WILL slow to a crawl until it is basically unusable.
This is not a possibility, or a likelihood. It is almost a certainty. Given that, it behooves everyone to do their best to keep their computers maintained. If you don’t, you have no one to blame but yourself when your computer doesn’t work right.