The past few hours fighting with Windoze really has me depressed.\u00a0\u00a0 I had\u00a0a PC computer for about 12 years before the Internet was made available to the Public\u00a0 (not counting my TRS-80 and Atari 1000).\u00a0 I knew what every file on the computer did and why it was there.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Windoze is in every sense a cyber whore.\u00a0\u00a0 Every orifice is available for use by strangers.\u00a0\u00a0 Invite in a friend who wants to give you something for free (think Google or LogMeIn or DropBox or AVG) – you are offering up your computer’s security for a free shiny bobble that you want,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You are trusting that they have no malicious intent and that they won’t ever lose control of their own security.<\/p>\n
There was an episode of the Simpson’s based on the premise of\u00a0 “What if the entire Internet was down one day?”.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That’s becoming a really serious question.\u00a0\u00a0 What if it was down for a month?\u00a0 What if there was some state sponsored cyber attack that was so lethal and comprehensive that just allowing your computer to connect to the Internet would make it unusable?<\/p>\n
If we went back (at least temporarily) to a world with PCs that aren’t connected to the Internet at all, what would you still be able to do with them?\u00a0\u00a0 My guess is the answer is:\u00a0 Shockingly little.<\/p>\n
Where can you still\u00a0buy software on a physical medium?\u00a0\u00a0 What media devices are\u00a0left that\u00a0still are included in a new PC?\u00a0 CD\/DVD\/USB thumb drive?<\/p>\n
How would you pay your bills?\u00a0 Know what your bank balance is?\u00a0 Could your bank even mail out paper statements any more? \u00a0Would ATM networks fail?\u00a0\u00a0 Could gas stations still pump gas?\u00a0\u00a0 Could WalMart operate its cash registers?\u00a0\u00a0 Would traffic lights still work?\u00a0\u00a0 Would power plants go offline?\u00a0 [ghost of Y2K]<\/p>\n
At startup, most software these days “Calls home” to see if an updated version is available.\u00a0\u00a0 How many products would fail to start if there is no Internet connectivity?\u00a0\u00a0 Could we file tax returns on paper?\u00a0\u00a0 Could ADP still process payrolls?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Would Social Security recipients still get their money on the 3rd?<\/p>\n
One of the selling points for the Internet in the beginning was that the design meant there would be no “single point of failure”\u00a0 – a nuclear bomb could destroy Chicago and the Internet would just keep on humming, routing around any failures.\u00a0\u00a0 Have we now bet our entire society and civilization on the single point of failure called the Internet?\u00a0\u00a0 [That’s mostly a rhetorical question]<\/p>\n
Living in a cave in Afghanistan is looking a bit more attractive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The past few hours fighting with Windoze really has me depressed.\u00a0\u00a0 I had\u00a0a PC computer for about 12 years before the Internet was made available to the Public\u00a0 (not counting my TRS-80 and Atari 1000).\u00a0 I knew what every file … Continue reading