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Don't laugh too HARD!

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The illitterate fall for these things. I've just recently removed that "Antivirus 2010" from someone's computer. It's one of those people that gets a virus every few months even though they have good AV software installed already. People fall for this crap. :)
 
There's really nothing to laugh about. So you are good at computers, but 98% of the people around you are not... I try to teach my kid since he's young not to laugh at others misfortune...

Anyway, I would imagine that most of these 98% of people are better then you at something else (something you are not interested in).

Malware is starting to be a really big problem, and sooner or later it will be used as an excuse to lock down computers and the internet into something that us 2% will hate.
 
There's really nothing to laugh about. So you are good at computers, but 98% of the people around you are not... I try to teach my kid since he's young not to laugh at others misfortune...

Anyway, I would imagine that most of these 98% of people are better then you at something else (something you are not interested in).

Malware is starting to be a really big problem, and sooner or later it will be used as an excuse to lock down computers and the internet into something that us 2% will hate.

+1
 
Has your son asked for a processor from a company called AMD?

Does your son install programs like Lunix, bonzi buddy, comet cursor? He's a hacker! No! It's not your kid surfing porn and wanting a faster rig for games (and to compensate for the bogdown from all the porn spyware, ie, bonzi buddy, comet cursor)
 
Has your son asked for a processor from a company called AMD?

Does your son install programs like Lunix, bonzi buddy, comet cursor? He's a hacker! No! It's not your kid surfing porn and wanting a faster rig for games (and to compensate for the bogdown from all the porn spyware, ie, bonzi buddy, comet cursor)

My kid is quite computer literate for a 5 year old. He knows how to run virtual machines under vmware, go to web pages (by typing the urls), start programs etc. However there is a limit to what you expect somebody his age be able to do (besides I don't let him use the computer for more then an hour a week).

Even I occasionally have problems concentrating enough while installing programs that seem valid, to remove the selections that would install junk on the side. I really don't expect computer illiterate people to be able to use a computer without being infected these day's. There's just too many programs to keep up to date, and often even that is not enough. It's easy to blame the end user though...

To be able to keep a computer and your online accounts secure you have to have an understanding of how things work. To gain that understanding you have to be interested in how things work, and most people just don't care... Now the big question is should they care, or should there be a change in the whole mentality of how operating systems and programs work (sorry, don't have an easy answer for this).
 
I deal with crap day in and day out at work. It really is quite a thorn in my side. Some of this stuff could be considered a form of extortion.
 
My kid is quite computer literate for a 5 year old. He knows how to run virtual machines under vmware, go to web pages (by typing the urls), start programs etc. However there is a limit to what you expect somebody his age be able to do (besides I don't let him use the computer for more then an hour a week).

Even I occasionally have problems concentrating enough while installing programs that seem valid, to remove the selections that would install junk on the side. I really don't expect computer illiterate people to be able to use a computer without being infected these day's. There's just too many programs to keep up to date, and often even that is not enough. It's easy to blame the end user though...

To be able to keep a computer and your online accounts secure you have to have an understanding of how things work. To gain that understanding you have to be interested in how things work, and most people just don't care... Now the big question is should they care, or should there be a change in the whole mentality of how operating systems and programs work (sorry, don't have an easy answer for this).

The bottom line is that we got to the early 1980s, and the AVERAGE person (I'm not saying these were new inventions I'm saying they became available to Joe Six Pack) gained access to all this crazy technology- answering machines, photocopiers, home printers, fax, home computers, microwave ovens, cd players-- and we saw a fork in the road, and it had two signs on it, and everyone was staring at them and discussing amongst themselves
which way to go they read as follows

TECHNOLOGY WILL COMPLICATE LIFE >>>>
TECHNOLOGY WILL SIMPLIFY LIFE <<<<

And nobody really agreed on what the outcome would be- regardless of which way we went- but the general consensus was that, somewhere, something was being done to make sure we would take the second option.

It didn't really work out. With automation comes complication. With more complex systems- regardless of any attempts to simplify the INTERFACE you are running a complex system which eventually will inevitably require the user to understand said complexity, and that'll never happen.

Let me give you some examples of what I mean- some before and afters- I can't answer your question-- though I hope the answer is yes.

Computers simplifying life for transactions/buying:

-We can't check your balance, the computer is down

-This UPC isn't in the system- I have to send someone to price check

-everyone in the line has to wait because the computer in the cash register is stuck on this transaction and we can't move to another transaction

-haggling? The price is in a computer. I'll get caught.

-which of the following 4 ways would you like to pay?

-'bank cards' to make banking easier >> Introduces easily stolen PIN number

-online banking/phone banking >> More easily intercepted than face to face

-------------------------------------------------------------

Communication

-Is that a landline or a cellphone? Oh it's the cable company's phone lines? So is that a 483? Or a 477? Or is it the new 338 area code? Do I have to dial 1?

-where have all the payphones gone? No no, you have to buy a cell phone--which itself should be the most simple item in the world- and because of our own perverse desire to live in STAR TREK we fall in love with things like the iPhone. It's a really wide phone with a touch screen and it plays games and music and has it's own operating system bla bla

when you have to LEARN your new phone-- you should take 3 steps back and say "Huh?"

-------------------------

(too tired, out of examples)

------------------------


Anyways, the point is- we've overcomplicated absolutely everything. why was my 1987 Amiga 500 easier to figure out-- and mind you I was a child- than a windows XP machine- for a raw user?

I'll tell you why- because it had limited hardware and software and connectivity capabilities out of the box.

Here's a computer. The operating system is on a disk. Load it into RAM.
Open stuff on the screen. That's it. What's the internet? Only like 2 people have modems. "What's your IP adress again?" "0.0.0.0.0.1" "Right"


We went the wrong direction- and it's not because we didn't try- it's our own perverse need for complexity.
we've attempted to make beautiful faces for this complexity, nice flowing ways for it to work, but at the end of the day, it's overcomplicated.

We've taken something that was originally an electronic typewriter that also played pong into a home gaming/banking/office/tv viewing/movie watching/million kinds of media downloading/multitasking monstruosity that can do so many things at the same time sometimes we forget what we have running...

And there'll be a BETTER one next week.

I remember being in a computer class way back when and talking to the rediculously attractive teacher about the upcoming 1Ghz processors.

"Hah! Who would ever need 1000Mhz"

Who would ever need more than 640K?



Think about it guys-- you can buy a GPU with over two BILLION transistors on it that handles over 60 gigatexels/sec

Like... seriously.
 
I don't see what your 80s rant has to do with fake anti virus programs tricking the regular computer users. Just about everyone has a computer, most that I know have the internet and use it. Windows XP or any other OS really is pretty easy to use or even learn for the first time to just get online or set up your email. Give anyone a little time and they will learn how to use their computer for what they want. That doesn't change the fact that they won't read everything they say YES to when using something on the internet or a program and they probably won't be able to spy a fake product that looks pretty similar to a real one.
 
I don't see what your 80s rant has to do with fake anti virus programs tricking the regular computer users. Just about everyone has a computer, most that I know have the internet and use it. Windows XP or any other OS really is pretty easy to use or even learn for the first time to just get online or set up your email. Give anyone a little time and they will learn how to use their computer for what they want. That doesn't change the fact that they won't read everything they say YES to when using something on the internet or a program and they probably won't be able to spy a fake product that looks pretty similar to a real one.

Sorry, but you are mistaken. Most people have a mental block when it comes to understanding what's going on with the computer. They feel questions are presented in a complicated way, and usually don't even end up reading them.

Windows XP is not easy to use, especially for somebody who does not understand the difference between an application and an operating system.

Configuring an email account is not easy for somebody who does not understand what pop3, imap, SSL and mail server stand for.

I've seen enough people with inability to read on screen questions to stop blaming them for not reading it - a solution has to come from somewhere else (as dumb as it may sound).

You consider windows xp to be simple enough for people to learn, the problem is most people don't want to learn it. They just want to do some simple task...

The world really needs a totally dumbed down operating system made with uninterested novice users in mind.
 
There's really nothing to laugh about. So you are good at computers, but 98% of the people around you are not... I try to teach my kid since he's young not to laugh at others misfortune...

Anyway, I would imagine that most of these 98% of people are better then you at something else (something you are not interested in).

Malware is starting to be a really big problem, and sooner or later it will be used as an excuse to lock down computers and the internet into something that us 2% will hate.
+1.

Sorry, but you are mistaken. Most people have a mental block when it comes to understanding what's going on with the computer. They feel questions are presented in a complicated way, and usually don't even end up reading them.

Windows XP is not easy to use, especially for somebody who does not understand the difference between an application and an operating system.

Configuring an email account is not easy for somebody who does not understand what pop3, imap, SSL and mail server stand for.

I've seen enough people with inability to read on screen questions to stop blaming them for not reading it - a solution has to come from somewhere else (as dumb as it may sound).

You consider windows xp to be simple enough for people to learn, the problem is most people don't want to learn it. They just want to do some simple task...

The world really needs a totally dumbed down operating system made with uninterested novice users in mind.
+1 again.


Most of my customers tend to have this stuff on the PC. How would a novice user even have a clue???
 
+1.

+1 again.


Most of my customers tend to have this stuff on the PC. How would a novice user even have a clue???

indeed. :thup:


My grandmother can't even seem to grasp the difference between Firefox and her "Yahoo" even though I've explained it many times. and she doesn't understand that her Yahoo isn't ON her computer. I built her a new one and she told me several times to make sure I saved all her folders in Yahoo, even though I told HER several times that it's not even on her computer it's on the Internet.

To most people, computers are magical, mysterious boxes.
 
The illitterate fall for these things. I've just recently removed that "Antivirus 2010" from someone's computer. It's one of those people that gets a virus every few months even though they have good AV software installed already. People fall for this crap. :)

I do the same thing at work.

What is funny is that on most of these PCs.... Norton Antivirus CANNOT remove ANY of these crapware programs lol.
 
While it may be funny if an IT person falls for this (like a practical joke). When a novice person gets it, you can at least look at it as they are TRYING to help us do our jobs better by getting an AV of sorts. I would also look at it as it would be my down fall as a computer tech not to teach the people I am paid to support about this.
 
These fake companies do such a great job in making it seem so legit. My favorite is the one that is browser based, and says your system MAY be infected, would you like us to scan it free? Windows 2008 Antivirus Trojan! lol
 
These fake companies do such a great job in making it seem so legit.

For years the attempts where so bad it was almost funny. I'm amazed every day at the improved quality of emails trying to get me to install new patches or see why my packets are late.

I would imagine this is by far the fastest growing (by revenue) area in computer related business for the moment, and will stay that way. If things keep progressing like they have for the last year or so I don't want to know where we will be in the future.
 
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