Re: when ease of use becomes laze of use --

[Walt Smith <ka3agm@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I don't fully agree.  The biggest single problem is an architecture that
places a premium on interapplication functionality; that is, seamless
activity frequently not even detected by the user.  This is Microsoft's
biggest single contribution to software design, but it's a two-edged sword
because it provides lots of opportunities for exploitation.  There may be
_legitimate_ security issues, but every security guru that I've heard
since the outbreak of the "Love Bug" worm incident has made it clear that
the architectural concept, itself, will always make it possible for
malignant individuals to exploit all that function.  

If people used even minimal judgment; for example, not opening
attachments that they're not expecting; most virus and worm incidents
wouldn't become as major as they do.  Just for example ... how many people
do you think would _really_ send a love letter as an attachment in the
first place?  If someone is confessing a long-repressed love for you, they
would _not_ send you an attachment and put the kind of cold verbiage in
the covering note that accompanied this particular item.  And anyone who
has their email program set up to _automatically_ open attachments
deserves what they get, imo.

-- 
Walt Smith - Raleigh, NC
ka3agm@xxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm not a humanitarian, I'm a hell-raiser"
          - Mother Jones

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