RE: [fw-wiz] The home user problem returns

From: Tina Bird (tbird_at_precision-guesswork.com)
Date: 09/13/05

  • Next message: R. DuFresne: "Re: [fw-wiz] The home user problem returns" 
    To: "'Mason Schmitt'" <mason@schmitt.ca>, "'R. DuFresne'" <dufresne@sysinfo.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 12:23:33 -0700

    > It seems that there are two primary ways in which people
    > change. Either
    > they make a conscious choice to change prior to a problem
    > getting out of
    > hand (requires knowledge that there is an impending problem and
    > knowledge of how to avoid the problem) or they endure more
    > and more pain
    > until they are forced to look at the problem and finally make
    > a choice.

    i disagree. i don't know *anyone* who willingly makes a fundamental,
    significant change in their behavior without pain as a motivator. for every
    example of your first category that you can present, i can *probably*
    demonstrate that the "apparent" change is really an example of the person
    behaving consistently with some deeper part of their personality, which
    isn't changing.

    i think it's human nature to resist change altogether unless some sort of
    pain - personal, physical, financial - motivates them. it's why carrot and
    stick works so well as a way to influence behavior.

    so for me, the question is, how do we influence the *consequences* of badly
    configured or managed machines - wherever they are, on corporate networks or
    the internet - in order to create the change we want? how do we create a
    beneficial sort of pain?

    when i'm dealing with my relatives, i just change the configuration of their
    computer when i'm visiting. that's not exactly a motivator, but hey, their
    machines are fully patched :-)

    it's why i'm so interested in NAC and NAP and other sorts of enterprise
    technologies that let me use network connectivity as the bribe to get
    machines configured the way i want them. i'm creating pain for the end user
    by not letting them get to the web without doing what i want - the height of
    security admin arrogance, i'm sure, but i try to be reasonable in my
    expectations.

    cheers - tbird

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  • Next message: R. DuFresne: "Re: [fw-wiz] The home user problem returns"

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