Ignorance Isn't Bliss When It Comes to Malware
It must be the season for for ideas that are so wrong headed that believing two or more puts you into the category of above average chance of winning a Darwin Award. I'll leave the latest round of whacko, X-Files conspiracy theories about HIV and the federal government to the political bloggers who have to put those and instead focus on the "I know malware when when I see it, or when it deletes my files" misunderstanding.
Avert Labs blog posted on the lingering ignorance of some about the changing form and function of malware:
There have been a couple of threads lately, one on LifeHacker, one on Ask Metafilter, about whether it's necessary to use anti-virus software. The comments in both are a very clear indication on how far we have to go in educating users on the real danger of malware. It would appear the average user is operating under assumptions that might have been true 8 years ago. Now, it's just a recipe for disaster.
The idea that we can out wit malware, catch it faster than it can infect and transmit sensitive data without constantly running AV and other security measures is right up their with what you'll see on X-Files reruns and clips from yesterday's National Press Club meeting.
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