Windows 10: Question on security--In discussion:

Regarding the warning:


Beware of scammers posting fake support numbers in the Microsoft Community forum. Contact https://support.microsoft.com/contactus if you need help.


This is a public community. To protect your privacy, do not post any personal information such as your email address, phone number, product key, password, or credit card number.


This all applies to W10, and Windows products going back to at least XP. I appreciate the problem, and that this is a public forum. The question is "How can the general users tell what they are looking at?"


For background:


A system icon in the task bar just appeared: The full color MS logo not the one in the lower LH corner of the screen. When I mouse over it, it reads: "Network icon shows no internet connection, but I am connected -- Microsoft Community"


In this case, the icon in the group in the lower RH corner shows that it is, in fact connected.


After a bit of research, I surmise that this MAY have been the result of my visiting the Community some months ago, having found something useful, and having checked that I wanted to be notified if there was any additional activity. I say may because, as a functional user, I have no effective access to either information or control of what the OS is doing.


That's not the point of the question, however.


Today nearly all service agreements are contract of adhesion. That is, they are take it or leave it propositions. The terms and conditions are such that the companies issuing them can change the agreement at will. Increasingly, these "contracts" include language placing the responsibility for security on the customer. The crux of the problem: These so-called "agreements" put the full burden for security on the party that--except for protecting their own passwords--is least able to affect it.


Posting this to the Community is really a shot in the dark on my part. I've actually given up on it after having observed that the same basic operating system problems can go unaddressed for years--in this case, literally a decade. I did a quick Google search and found the same question from August 2008. And the standard practice of declaring a thread closed and forcing the users to submit a new question, is not fooling anyone.


Between this, and the myth of infinite bandwidth, my personal assessment is that we are looking at a meltdown at some point. For years I was angry with the IT community for what deliberately sweeping problems under the rug. However, I now believe that this is not the case. I now sincerely believe that the IT community at large no longer understands the basic principles of systems, including, first and foremost, that the most critical element of any system is the end user of what comes out of it.


For what it's worth.

:)

 

Internet Security

IMO lots depends on the habits and the knowledge of the computer user...

Suggestion to read:

• Choosing an Anti-Virus Program
• Safe Steps for Replacing your Anti-virus - Why should you use Antivirus
  software?
• Supplementing your Anti-Virus Program with Anti-Malware Tools
• Best Practices for Safe Computing - Prevention of Malware Infection
  

Suggestion to watch:

 

Corporate Security Solution

That made me so facepalm. Some people have absolutely no clue. I hope they don't take you for granted with all this you're doing for them.

SonicWall is a good security product, so Mindweaver's suggestion sounds like a good one and should make for a rather bigger baby step. Let's hope they take it.

 

Security

Depends on a lot of things...

Suggestion to read

• Choosing an Anti-Virus Program
• Safe Steps for Replacing your Anti-virus - Why should you use Antivirus
  software?
• Supplementing your Anti-Virus Program with Anti-Malware Tools
• Best Practices for Safe Computing - Prevention of Malware Infection