Do You Think?

I've been reading some of the security newsletters that come into my inbox on a regular basis. A recurring theme in these missives seems to be 'phishing' (see below) is going to be the biggest security problem for end users in the coming year. The sad thing, it is probably true.

How many times have the news media reported on this problem? Hundreds of times more than likely. How many times have users been told, 'Your financial institutions do not send emails telling you to go to a site and input your confidential information'.

Are end users like sheep, following wherever the paths lead? Do they just ignore common sense and blindly do whatever an email tells them? There must be thousands of these 'sheep like' users out there on the 'web' or the perpetrators would not keep up the endless barrage of 'phishing' emails I get in my inbox. The same holds true for spammers. They just keep sending and sending an endless stream of garbage email to just about everyone that has an email account. Some of the more gullible of users click and buy from this junk, thus encouraging the garbage handlers to send out more of their trash.

How can we educate end users to delete unopened all of this junk? How can we convince these folks to NEVER buy anything from a spam email? I wish I knew! If how to handle 'phishing' and spam is published in the local newspapers, reported on the news and written about on countless websites haven't made a dent in what these poor 'victims' will do, then what can be done?

Should ISPs make users take a security course before they let them connect to the Internet? Make them pass a test? That would seem to be impractical, but somewhere, somehow, there has to be an answer!

(Phishing, pronounced fishing, is a nefarious plot to steal a victim's information. The emails claim to be from a financial instution, like your bank or credit card company, eBay, PayPal or a simuliar company. The message varies, some claim to need you to update your information or your account may be closed. For an example,look at this page on Martha's Web.)

I Am Going to Say 'Goodbye' to Symantec

Symantec's products have been on my computer a very long time. I currently use Norton utilities, (I may have to keep that) Norton's Internet Security which is the firewall and Norton Antivirus. I have been happy with these products. True they are big resource hogs, but I have plenty of rsources and have configured the products to not load until needed. Of course, the anti-virus and firewall are needed at startup.

So why am I going to say 'Goodbye'? I don't like being lied to. I purchased a product called Drive Image back in August, from a very well known retailer of Electronics. The product was advertised for $69.95 with two rebates, one was for an upgrade, $30, (I already had an earlier version) and the other was for purchasing the product, $40. Unfortunately, the company that made Drive Image was bought by Symantec.

I duly filled out the rebate slips and carefully made sure I had everything that was required. I also made copies of each of the rebates. The copies are stored in my Rebates folder in My Documents. Imagine my surprise when I received a rebate check for $20! That was it! So, I attempted to find a contact email address for Symantec Rebates, however, if they have one, it is very well hidden. They do have a page on their site for rebates, but no contact information that I could find. Apparently they don't feel it is necessary for customers to contact them to find out why the advertised rebates and the actual amount of the rebate are not the same. So, when it comes time for me to renew my anti-virus subscription, another product, as yet undecided, will take it's place. The same thing will happen for my firewall.

The sad thing is, I would have bought the product without the rebates. But if someone (or some company) lies to me, it's all over!