Re: Zone Alarm (free addition) and Netscape dialup accelerater.

"ArtDent" <par@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:26MJg.3871$xQ1.10@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On 31-Aug-2006, "Jason Edwards" <none@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

How would the average Windows user know how to correctly set up the
rules

Google?

A minefield of incomprehensible information to the average Windows user
if the subject is firewall configuration.

There is a lot, you do have to know how to narrow your search, but you are
assuming that the average Windows user is too dumb?
incomprehensible = too dumb

No, incomprehensible = information which does not associate with anything the
reader already knows and thus does not provide them with any additional insight,
even if it would provide such insight to a reader who already has suitable
existing knowledge.
This has nothing to do with being dumb.

Your bias is showing.
Too lazy I would agree with.

Help files within the program?

The last time I looked at the help in ZA it wasn't very helpful. As an
example
it would refer to a box for an IP address and say something like "In
this box
you enter an IP address".

Oh come on, what, is that the pop-up box you are talking about?

No idea. It's been a long time since I last had a PC in front of me with ZA on
it.
I was going to put ZA on a PC today so I could give a clearer explanation of why
I think the built in help is useless, but I think that would be a waste of time.
The average Windows user does not understand the help in ZA so I can see no
reason why the vendor would wish to improve it.

When you
hover your mouse over the field? I meant the 'real' help files.
Besides, what more do you want it to say? If you had a question about
what is was going to _do_ with that ip address, you should have hovered
above or below where it said what that box was for (besides entering the
number). Are you being obtuse on purpose here or what? Bias peeking out
again?

Yes, I know 'most' or 'average'
users won't, but the answers aren't usually too hard to find, all the
software can do is make it as easily available as possible, without
shoving it in the face of a more advanced user.

Why would personal firewall software want the user to understand it?
If they understood it they might conclude that they don't need it.

I think almost all software would prefer that its user know how to use it

I think that there is much software out there which is targeted at home Windows
users and which would prefer that they spend money on it rather than know how to
use it. Getting the user to know how to use it is less important because this is
secondary to persuading them to purchase it.

as fully as possible, I think your bias is peeking out yet again.

What is this bias? Do you mean I'm biased against products which have only the
goal of sales instead of quality or usefulness? If so then ok I'm biased.


and
what would stop malware changing the rules? What would stop malware
making other
changes to the firewall or disabling it completely while making it
look
to the
user like it's still working?

I think checksums and maybe 'other' methods, hey, I am not the
programmers, I do not know _all_ the inner workings.
The obvious (to us) is to be careful and knowledgeable while surfing,
checking emails, etc., I'm sure the programmers do all they can, but
it
does indeed come down to the users behaviour online.

You don't think that Microsoft should fix Internet Explorer then?

Entirely up to them. The only time I use it is for manual Windows
Updates.
Otherwise, I use Firefox.
Free enterprise in action.

So if there were only one major car manufacturer, and if the default
configuration of their products was so flawed that the engine fell to pieces
after a few weeks, you would not complain to the car manufacturer you would tell
car owners that it's up to the manufacturer whether these problems are fixed and
that owners should immediately fit a different make of engine?


It is after all the major route that malware takes into a home Windows
PC,
particularly when Microsoft's implementation of Java is in use.

And I try to spread that as loudly as possible everywhere I can, to try to
persuade people to use any other alternative they like.
Firefox, Opera, there are quite a few 'good' browsers out there, I tell
people this every chance I get.

No doubt these people never question why the manufacturer never fixed the
configuration of the existing engine.

I don't think there's any point responding to the rest of your points as you
appear to believe that it is Microsoft's job to sell products with a default
insecure configuration and the job of other people to fix it with additional
software. I don't think anything I can say will change that.

The fantasy computer described at the end of your post does exist in the real
world, at least in my real world. I have two computers at home running XP pro
SP2 in constant use by three teenagers and their friends. The only firewall on
them is the built in one. They do not have any other "protection" software and
they do not even have anti-virus software. Both are free of malware. Both use
Internet Explorer. I know it will not be possible for you to believe this.

I believe that the best way to control malware is to configure your
network/computers/procedures so that you never get it. The best way to deal with
it if you do get it at home is to spend a few minutes restoring a drive image.
Anyone who can correctly use a personal firewall can also do this but I don't
see many people telling home users to make a backup image of their computer. The
article I found on your favorite web site does contain advice on backing up to
an external drive.

Jason



.

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