Digital Vandalism Spurs a Call for Oversight
If I’m reading this correctly, public opinion might be moving toward MSFT becoming a government-regulated monopoly (perhaps with their long-prized source code in escrow?). It’s plain that market pressures aren’t having much of an effect . . . .
“There’s a reason this kind of thing doesn’t happen with automobiles,” says Bruce Schneier, chief technical officer at Counterpane Internet Security in Cupertino, Calif. “When Firestone produces a tire with a systemic flaw, they’re liable. When Microsoft produces an operating system with two systemic flaws per week, they’re not liable.”
And I think it’s safe to assume that the difference in the physical nature of the products has a lot to do with it. As far as I can tell, most people spend more time shopping for a car (that they spend a few hours a week in, in most cases) than for a computer (which they might work with 40-50 hours each week). And of course, while a computer’s problems might make your life hell, it’s unlikely you will lose your life while using it.
Most software licenses protect vendors from problems arising from vulnerabilities in their code. That leaves many computer users at the mercy of software makers, particularly Microsoft, whose ubiquitous Windows operating system and e-mail programs serve as the starting point for many demons in cyberspace.
This “ubiquity” is a big part of the problem, since the single decision point for computer shoppers is price, not reliability or quality.
Microsoft concedes that its software needs to be designed better, but it also points to the need for users to help ensure their own security.
“There are three major things every consumer and user of computers needs to do,” Scott Charney, the security chief for Microsoft, said. “One, get antivirus software and keep it up to date. Two, get a fire wall and turn it on. And three, patch your machines.”
All the cars I’ve owned came with seatbelts, turn signals, all basic safety equipment as standard equipment. Each year, some models are recalled for safety risks, but the cost to remedy them is borne by the manufacturer, not the purchaser.
That does not lend much comfort to many computer users.
“Heck, despite being libertarian in nature, I’m all for a government crackdown in this area,” one frustrated Web user wrote in an online discussion about the recent virus attacks. “Obviously most home users are not going to know how to install a fire wall.”
Actually, Zone Alarm is not that hard to install, and it’s free, but why should the average home user be condemned to become a system administrator/hobbyist?