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Letter to the world

03/25/04 @ 2:08 pm · By Steve Hoffman · Comments (0) · Leave one
Dear World,
    I am writing this letter as a plea to all of humanity to wise the hell up!  With all the advances in technology and the continual decrease in prices of said technology, one would be inclined to believe that as the most advanced species on the planet, we'd be able to keep our computers up to date!
    I have spent the last two days chasing a virus through a machine; a virus that would never had caused a moments harm had the software been kept current.  I am not talking about the latest Windows XP or even the latest Norton/McAfee Anti-virus software, just the patches that go with them.  It is my belief that when someone buys a computer that comes with virus detection software they feel invincible and have nothing to worry about for the rest of their lives.  This is not the case at all, especially with anything Microsoft related. 
    I am not so arrogant to say that the Linux or Mac OS's are without vunerability, I am simply saying that the target of most viruses are windows users and therefore extra responsibility comes with owning such a machine.  I realize that the main reason for purchasing Microsoft products is the "brain dead" manner in which they can be used, but care still must be taken to ensure continuous "brain dead" operation!  I don't mean to brag nor to sound condescending, but I have been a computer user for the past 11 years in which time I have been infected only 1 time.  The reason for my success is simply maintaining a level of currency on all my machines.  Download the damn updates!
    I can only plead that the computer users of the world wake up (if they haven't already) and take responsibility for their machines.  I fear that if care is not taken now our society will move to a state of computer accountability.  If you forget to put your car in park and it rolls down the driveway into someone elses car are you not responsible for damages?  Why should you not be responsible for spreading a virus to thousands of computers causing serious losses for everyone infected then?

Sincerely,
S.H.

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