Dear Group,
My post will probably be called a rant. I do not think it is, but you are free to judge.
Recently I had to face some security issues, because my PC got infected with some Trojans, which caused problems with slow running, pop-up ads and possibly other events I did not become aware of.
In the process of dealing with this issue I began to realize how huge an industry is thriving on security related issues. This industry turns over billions of $s every year, possibly tens of billions by promising one form of relief or another.
I can't believe that the advertisments placed on the screens of people who do not want to see them and the info gained by advertisers by knowing what house wives watch can possibly explain the explosion of malware which we are exposed to.
It may well be that sales by security firms and experts are the culprits which continue to drive this abuse of the public in general and of businesses which rely upon networks.
Since I can't detect any serious effort by anybody in power to cut down on spam and malware, I think that the following solution may be worthwhile for the individual knowledgeable user.
Have one PC which is connected to the internet. Have another one which stores and manages your sensitive data. Transfer only what is needed between the two machines by disks or card and use only text files if possible to put any data into the PC connected to the net.
If the net-PC is infected it will then matter little. If the net PC is infected to such a degree that its use becomes problematical, install the OS, a browser and mail service again, nothing else. I am working on the premise here, that the net PC is used for e-mail, news, google searches. not for TV, music etc. These latter services are not essential and those using them will have to live with the increased risk of an infected machine of reduced usefulness.
What do you think?
Cheers GR.