Apathy is not the answer

I read a lot of stuff every day. It helps keep me on top of the industry and in a better position to advise my customers on what is happening now and what they have to do to defend against it.

Sometimes I read stuff that makes my blood boil because some folks don't understand that the world is bigger than just their microcosm of society. Check out this post on vitalsecurity.org if you want to see apathy at work.

This fine fellow (can you detect the sarcasm?) has decided not to use any kind of security protection because it's just easier to reinstall the operating system and start over. Paperghost (vitalsecurity.org's author) does a good job of discussing why this is a bad idea.

And to be clear, it is a bad idea. The bad guys can use your machine as a spambot. Or they could break into the applications you have running and also steal information from your web browsing sessions (like to your bank or brokerage). It's always bad when someone else has control over your computer. ALWAYS.

The real issue I have is that protecting your information just isn't that hard. It really isn't. Just follow Security Mike's 10 step program and you will be better off than pretty much everyone out there. Even better, you won't have to spend any money on these security tools - I point you towards free ones that work as good, if not better, than those you pay $50-80 a year for.

Check it out at Security Mike's web site.

Image courtesy of Despair, Inc.