__/ [ alt ] on Thursday 24 August 2006 04:10 \__
> On Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:51:45 +0100, Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>
>> __/ [ nessuno@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ] on Wednesday 23 August 2006 12:14 \__
>>
>>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>>> | Microsoft Corp. Tuesday kicked off its Get Net Safe tour in Phoenix to
>>>> | help people be safe and secure on the Internet.
>>>
>>> It would be fun to go picket them with penguin and "Safe Computing?
>>> Buy a Mac" signs.
>>
>> Rather than educate the public, Microsoft confuses people. It makes them
>> narrow minded by controlling their exposure to altenatives (OEM's, media,
>> schools and so on). How many Linux newbie do you know who ask about
>> malware and anti-virus software, or the absence of scandisk.exe and
>> defrag.exe? Earlier today I got the following message by E-mail (just a
>> snippet):
>>
>> "Too many things are not there. I want my Desktop and My
>> Documents and My Pictures and my Music. I have it all saved
>> on my external drive. I see no Start, Search, Control Panel,
>> Add/Delete Programs."
>>
>> So he's new to the world of Linux and he thinks that computing=Windows.
>> The terminology is very narrow to him and he cannot grasp the fact that
>> Linux is not Windows. Linux is done better--or conversely--Windows is a
>> poor UNIX/Linux implementation.
>
> I had to explain to someone why it wouldn't be harmful to have an
> interlink cable between his Windows box (which he doesn't surf with) and a
> Macintosh (which he does surf with) because a virus written for windows
> will not run on a mac (and vice versa).
>
> He's going to look at getting a USB thumbdrive to move files between the
> machines. He's still pretty paranoid about his Windows machine catching a
> virus.
Some people think the viruses are physical (bugs were phyical back in the
olden days). I remember that, when I was about 5 or 6, I suspected there was
something biological about viruses. Those 5.25" floppies would invoke some
distinct sound if inserted into the drive when wet, so the same was assumed
about viruses. And infection was assumed, at least in my eyes, to cause
irreversible physical damage (although that's possible too if the hardware
is sensitive to software, e.g. overclocking). The pictures (or animation) in
anti-virus programs never help sane perception, let alone the terminology
(e.g. Trojan /horse/).
Best wishes,
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | Reclaim your workstation - install GNU/Linux today
http://Schestowitz.com | Open Prospects ¦ PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
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