Windows Much Safer After Microsoft Killed Autorun

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[citation][nom]whatisupthere[/nom]Yes, linux has limitations. Some of these are due to a small user base. Many others are due to external sources. This includes actions by companies like microsoft. For what it does linux works great on many computers. I have seen many people put linux on very old computers and are surprised by how much better and faster the computers work.[/citation]

Ohh not this again. More of the "OHH we're being held back by the evil corporations, their soo evil!!!" bullcrap. This line got old in the early 2000's, now its just asinine. MS hasn't done anything to the acceptance of Linux, it doesn't need to do anything Linux users themselves will ensure the OS isn't accepted. Just take Ubunto for example, a great platform and a true user friendly system. The hardcore Linux guys go ape sh!t about them "selling out" and being "dumbed down".

I liken it to the hipster scene. Hipsters considering themselves cool because their "unique" and "obscure". The moment anything becomes mainstream, the hipsters run away from it and ridicule it. The moment anything with "Linux" in it becomes mainstream, the Linux guys would ridicule it because its not "special" anymore. Heck take the API for example, HOW many sound API's are used in Linux, how many GUI / graphical API's are present? If I was to build a big expensive and complicated program, it would be a nightmare getting it to work on all the distros' and work under every possible interpretation of "Linux". Or I can build it for DirectX and Windows.

And I can say all this because I'm neither a Linux guy nor a MS guy, I run Solaris 10 on a SPARC for my production work (the x86 machine is for games). Getting "Linux" programs to compile and run on my Solaris system has been beyond difficult. Even though I'm using Gnome and have GCC, SDL, OpenGL and other "standard" libraries installed, the sheer diversity of Linux platforms makes things extremely hard to do. I'm just happy blastwave and sunfreewebs have many apps already built in a package, but most are optimized for UltraSparc II which is old. The performance jump from UltraSparc II to UltraSparc III+ optimization's is a good 20~30%, which I can't enjoy unless I compile it myself.
 
[citation][nom]alidan[/nom]most people use a computer evey day of their life, and its a major part of it. digital cameras, camcorder, video chatting and such... to not learn the BASICS of a computer is retarded.lets equate it to learning a car. you tun car on = make sure everything is plugged inyou back up and drive = know were basic things on the computer areyou obey signs = you know what to do and not to do internet wiseyou get pulled over because you dont listen = you get virusesim not asking them to be able to run linux without a gui, im asking them to not be so g#@ damn dumb.[/citation]

Im just saying things that seem simple to people on this site are not simple to everyone. Try to keep that in mind. Few people take classes on basic internet security(no drivers ed to use a computer). An inexperienced person is likely to make mistakes as they are learning.
I get annoyed when people in any field (computers, law, medicine, etc) become arrogant and start calling people stupid. Its a bad attitude for a smart person to have.
 
[citation][nom]WR2[/nom]If you look at the qualifiers in that chart title such as a. reported by MSRT and b. Major Auto-Run Abusing Families (which might mean anything MS wants it to mean) there is probably a much, much higher infection rate.[/citation]

This is an incorrect assumption. The fact that the qualifiers are not fully defined means that we don't know enough about the graph or its data to come to any conclusions.

It doesn't mean that the graph isn't representative or that the actual number is higher. It means we don't know.

Rule of thumb, if you don't know, you don't know. There is no real basis for semi-accurate assumptions until you know something.
 
[citation][nom]techguy911[/nom]This is not true autorun malware is only 2% of the infections the other 80% is internet explorer it contains a huge security hole allowing hackers/malware writers to install code on your pc they tried patching last week but now its out in the wild more than before.10% is java script and the other 10% is java.I spend most of my time at work removing fake av's/scareware all day long at my computer store.People don't update there java/flash/adobe reader that leaves them open to infection 99% of all infections are from ad servers with bad ads most major companies have been hit such as google,microsoft and many others.As to triculious comment most infections are not from mail but ad servers that popup full screen pages that look like programs clicking anywhere even on the X to close the program will install the scareware only safe way is to end the task on the browser.[/citation]

I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but I have a hard time taking your statistics seriously when their sum is 102%.

Unless you mean to include malware on Linux and Mac, I just don't know where this number is coming from.
 


Nope. I'll have to disagree with you.

Being in tech support has taught me that the intelligence bar is low when it comes to using computers/internet. People really are capable of being ignorant and ineducable when it comes to technology, in particular. Show them the same things a number of times and there are still people who can't burn it into their brains.

I also don't buy the BS excuse that most people are inexperienced and can't take classes or read a book, or that experts went through formal training to get where they are. That's all nonsense. For the more advanced stuff like security or development, maybe, but not for majority of the knowledge you'll need to run and use a computer. Majority of the stuff I learned about using computers did not come from the classroom or from books. I just learned about them through using my computer and messing around with it.

Hell, I'm in tech support and majority of the stuff I'm faced with I didn't even know about in the first place, but I managed to kludge around and make it through. You might argue that I had some base knowledge to start with but that's an invalid point. Everyone starts out the same when it comes to technology - zero knowledge.

What irks me is that when it comes to tech stuff people at home just pass it to me, even though both of us have no clue about it. What's irritating is that both of us starts out with zero knowledge of something and I still manage to figure things out most times, while the other is just meh. If I can handle something I don't know about, why can't other people?

Also, comparing computers with law and medicine is wrong. As an average person, I don't deal with the law and medicine on a regular basis. That's why I rely on experts when I need to deal with those stuff. A computer, however, is a tool that I deal with regularly enough to merit attention. So calling people stupid because they can't use their computers is different from calling people stupid because the don't understand the law and its loopholes or understand medicine and diseases.

A computer is a tool, if you have to use it to get your job done, it is your responsibility to at least learn how to use it properly. If you rely on a gun for your work or survival, will you not spend effort in learning about its care and maintenance, and safe and effective usage? You don't need to know how to repair it if it gets broken or how to fabricate parts for replacement, but you'll learn at least the basics of its use. Why not the same for computers?

I think people who have difficulty dealing with technology fall into two categories: those who don't want to be bothered (twice the idiot if the technology in particular is essential for them to function) or those that are too afraid of it to even touch it or mess around with it.

Pardon for the wall of text.
 
By the way: @omikron48 - this "wall of text" is the best thing I've ever read describing the ignorance and the lack of will to learn in average computer user. You're SO right. If you're using a computer - you must know some stuff about how it works and how to maintain it. Same with everything. Agreed completely. Nice to see some sense on this website, at last =)
 
[citation][nom]GenKhan2[/nom]1. I'm impressed at how low the infection rates are period.2. That my friends is why Windows is the world's premier operating system; a culture of continuous improvement based on measurable metrics.[/citation]

LOL; thanks for making me smile. I needed that.
 
Great wall of text omikron48. At least I get to milk my buddies for free sushi or Starbucks when they get virused up. It does irk me when they become too demanding though (I tell them to take it to geeksquad and that fixes their perspective to be more appreciative).

On another note, autorunsc is great. It dumps all the startup stuff to a plain text. Take a snapshot when you first get your system right, then do compares if you get into a pinch later down the line (ie. where the hell is this new popup nag or slowdown coming from???)
 
Really, it busts my chops whenever I'm presented with that type of situation.

I don't see the difference between someone more experienced with computers from a total novice, when it comes to something both don't know about. It annoys me when the less experienced shoves something at me that even I don't know about. It makes me just want to raise my hands in the air turn around and say to hell with it. Sadly, I don't have that option.

My brain gets cramps when someone asks me how to do a mail merge in excel, when their job deals with the use of excel. I'm in tech support and I'm not even sure if my responsibilities extend to the use of office applications. If I don't know how to do it and it naturally deals with what you are doing, it just makes me wish I could say RTFM to you without suffering consequences.
 
"Also, comparing computers with law and medicine is wrong. As an average person, I don't deal with the law and medicine on a regular basis. "

Yes and no. I'd say that basic computer knowledge isn't too different than deciding whether you should take a Tylenol or making anyone of hundreds of legal decisions you might make in a day [ie, that online purchase you made at lunchtime, where they didn't collect tax due to you being out of state-- are you going to report that and pay the proper sales tax or commit tax fraud? That seems like a legal decision you are making presumably without legal council...
 
[citation][nom]rosen380[/nom]"Also, comparing computers with law and medicine is wrong. As an average person, I don't deal with the law and medicine on a regular basis. "Yes and no. I'd say that basic computer knowledge isn't too different than deciding whether you should take a Tylenol or making anyone of hundreds of legal decisions you might make in a day [ie, that online purchase you made at lunchtime, where they didn't collect tax due to you being out of state-- are you going to report that and pay the proper sales tax or commit tax fraud? That seems like a legal decision you are making presumably without legal council...[/citation]

I agree with this. People make medical decisions every day. Should I see a doctor about this pain or ignore it? Should I take antacids? Should I take this vitamin? etc especially as people get older

Personally I am experienced with computers, science(degrees in bio chem and physics, former physicist), and medicine(soon to get my MD). I am fairly clueless about law. I wouldn't want a lawyer to treat me as an idiot if i were to ask a basic question. Also even if we both didn't know the answer to the question I am sure it would be much easier for the lawyer to look up and find the correct answer. There is experience to solving problems beyond just the factual knowledge.

 
But you are making a leap from common knowledge medicine [antacids] and computer basics to Legal information that a lawyer wouldn't know off-hand.

We're not talking about the equivalent of intricate details of tax law [where you are maybe asking your legal advice of someone who doesn't even deal with tax law in that county/state/country, where it may be or probably is different], I think we are more talking, "I haven't payed any taxes for the last seven years, am I in trouble?"
 
[citation][nom]rosen380[/nom]But you are making a leap from common knowledge medicine [antacids] and computer basics to Legal information that a lawyer wouldn't know off-hand. We're not talking about the equivalent of intricate details of tax law [where you are maybe asking your legal advice of someone who doesn't even deal with tax law in that county/state/country, where it may be or probably is different], I think we are more talking, "I haven't payed any taxes for the last seven years, am I in trouble?"[/citation]

I am trying to say that what seems basic to people on this site may not be basic to everyone. In my original post I was saying that I don't think we should call people morons for getting a computer virus. I would guess that the majority of people in the US are not good about what we consider basic internet security. In this case its not so basic or "common" knowledge.

A side note. Antacids. Seems basic enough. But can cause serious problems in some situations. hypokalemia, constipation, drug interactions, kidney failure etc. People have died from taking them for long periods of time. In not saying to avoid antacids, they are still very very safe. Just that things can be more complicated then they seem.
 
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