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Going online without understanding the basics of how the internet works is like getting behind the wheel without knowing the road rules: you might still get where you’re going, but you could be a danger to yourself and those around you.
Using the internet is now a daily activity for most Australians. Yet, the number of people who actually understand the internet’s mechanics is small. Government and schools do work to promote cyber security and cyber safety, but the message is still not getting widespread attention.
Ultimately there is only so much that government or businesses can do to keep us safe online. At a certain point, we need to take personal responsibility and educate ourselves about how to use the internet safely.
http://theconversation.com/we-need-to-take-responsibility-for-our-own-safety-online-38368
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Appalbarry on Tuesday March 17 2015, @06:12AM
Talk about blame the victim.
How can you expect ordinary users to protect themselves when
- no two web sites have the same pattern and requirements for passwords (length, letters, numbers, special characters)
- the site with the weakest security is often your bank.
- things that you might use to "protect" yourself - Tor comes to mind, and encryption - are under attack by your own government
- other tools that you might use are built with back doors to let the spooks in.
- even if you are aware of all of that, your web, cel, and phone traffic is being captured and scanned.
- the security tools that you use tend to turn out to have big fat flaws every couple of weeks or months.
- the criminals are smarter and better equipped than many of the people who claim to protect you.
And of course, you're getting your advice from government sources or the media who really don't know what they're talking about.
I will say kudos to Tor for making at least some things fairly easy.
But my god - OpenPGP. That has to be one of the least user friendly things ever invented. I'm good at this stuff and I'm still struggling to figure out just how I can use it easily.
All of the ways that people are told to secure themselves are either difficult or borderline useless. It's time to invent something new and painless.
It's not reasonable to expect end users to be uber-geeks just to be safe.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by TLA on Tuesday March 17 2015, @05:18PM
the question I ask myself is, can I do this thing without having to do it online?
If the answer is yes, then hell, I'll put on my shoes, get up off my arse and walk the mile and a half and interact with other human beings (yeah, I know, right?) to get the thing done right first time, and I know what they say about computers supposed to make our lives easier but for daily interactions, they really don't. Online banking, to pick the prevalent example, is a: NOT proven safe and b: unbelievably complex a venture for the uninitiated who can quickly come unglued and end up giving their money to Oxfam on a thousand year standing order without realising it. I would rather deal in cash not because I don't know how to use online banking (I've developed CRM systems complete with payment gateways), but because even with all the propaganda about how wonderful and convenient Chip & Pin or Contactless Payments is, I don't trust cards or electronic banking in the face of often dead-spit duplicate breaches of data including card numbers and OLB login data, least of all the privacy issue. In fact, personal privacy is the least of my concerns when it comes to who is accessing MY MONEY.
< /rant>
Excuse me, I think I need to reboot my horse. - NCommander
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 17 2015, @05:58PM
Yet, the number of people who actually understand the internet’s mechanics is small.
And to bring us full circle back to the analogy:
You don't need to be a mechanic to operate a vehicle safely.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2015, @06:24PM
Talk about blame the victim.
I know how this thing works. I dont blame the victim. They literally do not know better. Many times they do not even know they were a victim.
There are people out there setting out to 'rob' them and they never even know it.
A good example is my dad. He gets some good ol internet drug into his house. Surfing the web. Bit of ebay. Whatever...
The neighbors though decided since his access point was open he was willing to let them torrent 24/7 and max out his connection.
He went from 'my internet is slow' to 'you fixed it'. All I did was secure the router. They had even changed the password on it so someone else could not do it.
Christmas eve and you lost your internet. That is a shame. Christmas is on a friday? Oh cant get anyone out until at least monday. Well sucks to be you.
How can you expect ordinary users to protect themselves when
The defaults for most stuff is wide open. For some reason people think 'wide open' means sure help yourself I dont care. Well they do care but just do not even know any better.