Sponsor's Message

Would you really want a bunch of pimply-faced nerds in charge of your connectivity and security?

And speaking of security, I see that Xtra has spotted a way to boost its revenues by re-selling the McAfee security suite -- that's a smart move.

Of course the more savvy Net user will realise that paying $7.95 a month to Xtra means that they'll be paying a total of around $95 a year for software they can buy direct from the McAfee website for just $71 (US$50).

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I expect that Xtra would (quite rightly) justify this extra charge by pointing out that charging its customers a small monthly fee is going to be a lot easier and simpler for many people than the direct-purchase option.

Although I'm no expert in consumer law, I would suggest that Xtra review the impression that their webpage conveys. The phrase "Protecting yourself from online threats is simple with the Xtra Security Suite" -- since, as we all know, you can still get clobbered by viruses and worms even if you have such software onboard. What's going to happen when some new exploit hits a whole heap of Xtra users who think that their $8/month has bought them invulnerability?

Perhaps a judicious insertion of the word "most" could reduce a potential exposure to problems further down the track?

Of course the whole online security thing is a big problem for ISPs and users alike -- but (as always), I have a brilliant idea for significantly reducing the scale of the problem...

Why doesn't some clever ISP run a competition with a really useful prize (maybe a year's broadband access)?

To enter the competition, you simply have to pass a "Security Awareness Test" where you are asked a number of questions relating to the safe use of your computer online. Things like..

Q. What should you do with unsolicited emails?

1. delete them without opening
2. open then and view any attachments
3. forward them to friends

and..

Q. What should you do when a bit of spam arrives in your mailbox?

1. just delete it
2. click on the unsubscribe link
3. reply with a complaint
4. buy whatever product/service is being offered

Now the answers to questions like this are pretty obvious to you and I but experience has shown that there are a *lot* of Net users out there who would get many questions like this dead-wrong, and that's why we have so much trouble with malware and spam.

If an ISP were to set up a competition like this it would not only provide them with some pretty good publicity but it would also help to educate the Net-user population in a very positive way.

If no ISP is interested then perhaps InternetNZ could get behind such an initiative?

Anti-virus software only goes so far -- educating the user goes an awful lot further so let's do it!

Go have your say in The Aardvark Forums

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