'Dumb' users spread viruses

[Julio Franco]

Complacent and 'too-busy' users are responsible for the rapid spread of viruses, according to a study released Friday.

The 'nothing to do with me' mob are the major offenders, making up 90 per cent of the 1,000 UK employees surveyed. This vast majority believe that they have no part to play in preventing the spread of viruses, and that it is the responsibility of the IT department, Microsoft or the government.

Steve Brown, UK MD of network and security outfit Novell - which sponsored the report - said: "Viruses only work if there are people dumb enough to open them and pass them on."

Read more: Silicon.com.

 

[vassil3427]

This study seems like it was a waste of time. Common sense could have told you those results....

 

[Federelli]

Exactly, what a waste of time and money...

Plus, dumb is kinda harsh on noob users, they aren't dumb, just missinformed. Plus it's virus releasers'/microsoft's fault actually for allowing this vulnerabilitties to be exploited, not noob pc users

 

[acidosmosis]

You can't say it is the fault of Microsoft. That is just an old tired out cliche excuse everyone likes to use. You can't blame everything on MS. They package the software to the best of their ability (and apparently any other company out there because obviously MS is the one making the money, and has the most used OS in existance for a REASON).

The fact of the matter is it IS common sense. You don't just open an email from someone you don't know and if you are "misinformed" enough to open an attachment from someone you don't know then, well you deserve getting that virus because there is no such thing as being misinformed that virii do exist. We all know better so we should all exercise precaution.

When you do in fact get infected the blame can be laid on no one but the person(s) using that computer (or maybe another on the network which may have spread).

These are the kinds of people that spread virii. Not just "misinformed" people, but those that have obviously no common sense at all. Not to say there is anything wrong with being infected, because it WILL happen sooner or later.

As long as I have been using a computer I have never once been infected with a virus that caused any harm and I've been doing this for over 13+ years, started out in DOS and no idea what I was doing and definately didn't have the resources that we have today such as Symantec updating us via email on new threats, or on the TV, or on a local Internet forum.

Even though 13+ years ago you could say viruses weren't as "active" and easy to get as they are today the fact remains I still have yet to be infected.

We will never be 100% rid of disease. We may can eventually cure cancer, but more diseases will always arise, or existing ones will mutate into something new. Same thing goes with a computer virus.

 

[Nodsu]

No (usable) OS can be 100% virus free. It is just the ease of creating a virus and the types of effective viruses that varies between different systems.

And virus research labs cannot be blamed. In order for them to analyse a virus, it already has to be out there. And it has been simulated that a virus cannot be stopped even if an antivirus update was available the same instant the virus itself is released.

And people are just bloody stupid..

 

[Charles Hammond]

All an e-mail server has to do is just refuse to accept or delete all e-mail with attachments. This will not stop a worm, but it is a step in the right direction. If stopping virus's was so important email would be text only with no attachments allowed, no Java allowed and no HTML allowed. It is time for the ISP's and the company Email servers to have virus scanning software.

 

[Shnig]

All an e-mail server has to do is just refuse to accept or delete all e-mail with attachments. This will not stop a worm, but it is a step in the right direction.

Lol. How is deleting all attachments a step in the right direction?

 

[TS | Thomas]

Probably not the most PC thing for that Novell guy to say but he's right, ignorant users are largely at fault. There's only some much any IT department can do.
Training probably is the only real way to make some momentum in the area, &/or introducing some sort of penalty to users with infected systems.
I know where I work we're pretty big now into PC security & the virus scanners are always active (& updated as well ), finally sharing passwords is a big No, No.