Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins
The most imporant threat to any machine is social engineering, which turns you into the virus that damages your machine. No operating system will ever be immune to that.
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Again, just about every very harmful thing that has happened in the past year has been the result of social engineering and man in the middle internet scams which work no matter how "safe" your operating system is. If you give someone the password to your bank account he can get your money and it doesn't matter if you're running Windows, Linux, OS10, iOS, Android, VMS, DOS 3.3 or an abacus. Crooks have discovered that the easiest way to open a door is to ask you to do it in the most persuasive way. And it has been amazing how eager people have been to be their own virus.
The safety of your operating system is magnitudes less important than your own behavior.
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Particularly the first part, and the part that I underlined, italicized and bolded...
I got a phone call one morning waking me up, I answered, and the person on the phone was not a native speaker... Told me that "I'm from technical support" Oh, REALLY? Which 'Technical Support' would that be? hmm?
"We have tried contacting you on your computer...." With a pop-up? Really? You don't say?
"If you will log in we can remove the virus/malware/spyware..." (I forgot which one he said...) By this point I'm getting to the point of: 'I didn't get enough sleep and I've got a headache now because you woke me up early, PLUS you woke me up early and I'm not happy about that... and wait that's not all, act now and by waking me up early... I CLEAN MY OWN VIRUSES AND SPYWARE OFF MY PC... I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP, IF -THE REAL- 'TECHNICAL SUPPORT' HAD DONE THEIR JOB RIGHT THERE WOULDN'T BE ANY VIRUSES ON MY PC!!!'
And THEN, here came the kicker, and I although I KNEW it was a scam before this point, I had absolutely NO DOUBT that it was a scam after this... "from your Windows."
From my Windows? REALLY? From MY Windows? Which 'Windows' is that? Would that be Win95? 98? XP? 7? Vista? Hmm?
Which 'Windows' would that be, Mr. Scam artist? HUH? which one? JERK!
To which I replied "That's nice, I don't have Windows."
"What?" he says...
I repeat myself "I don't run Windows."
So in a rather panicked 'ohh dear, he's on to us, we screwed up' tone, "Ohh, Sorry sir, goodbye".
And he hangs up real fast....
I thought about calling the police, but I was tired so I went back to bed.
I'm waiting for the next call I get like that, I think I'll play the "total idiot" card and patronize the daylights out of them.
Barracuda