On Sat, Jul 06, 2013 at 10:50:40AM +0200, Alan McKinnon wrote: > > Technically, he's not wrong - any OS is just as susceptible to viruses > as any other, you just have to get over the first hurdle which is > getting code to run. The overall design of Windows has historically made > this somewhat easy, and the overall design of Windows users made it > easier still. > > Using Occam's Razor, I'd guess the fellow behind the counter is not too > different from fellows behind counters everywhere, and he's running on > one of these motivations: > > 1. He will punt what earns him more money (he's in sales after all) > 2. He will defend the thing he sells (usually by talking down the > competition) > 3. Just repeats some line he heard somewhere and doesn't really > understand the topic (but is convinced he does)
Ack! I built my first PC in 1984, and have worked on a couple since. I could write a book on all the FUD I've heard since then. People come into my computer shop and tell me what "they" told them all the time. The bottom line of WHY "they" tell "them" such things is all ignorance. Without the "business model" that Bill Gates created, there would be no "computer repair shop industry" such as we have now. Big Ears Billy is my freeeeend. ;-) Mickey$oft has purposed to create millions of ignorant computer users who will buy any piece of garbage software they can click and install with their index finger. Prime example: http://www.speedtest.net/ Running a Windoze OS you'll find at least 3 pieces of software advertised before the real test loads on your computer. That's on a Windoze box which doesn't allow cookies or tracking software of any kind. On a Gentoo box, running Firefox 22.0, NONE of those "software offers" loaded at all. Since 2003 the only customer of mine who got a virus/trojan/worm/etc is the ONE college student who turned off the software his Mom bought from me when it kept him from going to a certain website. He now has a password on the A/V software known only to me, and hasn't had a problem since. NB: I only sell the best A/V software on the market, which hasn't missed a virus in the wild since it's inception. Many people, like the boy Dale talked to, make their living off virii. Mine is made off of referrals. "They" make more money than I, but I sleep better. -- Happy Penguin Computers >') 126 Fenco Drive ( \ Tupelo, MS 38801 ^^ supp...@happypenguincomputers.com 662-269-2706 662-491-8613 http://happypenguincomputers.com/ A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail? Don't top-post: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_post#Top-posting
