It was bound to happen eventually. It actually probably started happening a few years ago, but now it’s actually getting news stories — ‘geeks’ are tired of fixing people’s problems.
As MyDoom, the fastest-spreading virus ever, continues to clog e-mail in-boxes and disrupt business, the computer-savvy are becoming openly hostile toward the not-so-savvy who unwittingly play into the hands of virus writers.
The tension over the MyDoom virus underscores a growing friction between technophiles and what they see as a breed of technophobes who want to enjoy the benefits of digital technology without making the effort to use it responsibly. The virus spreads when Internet users ignore a basic rule of Internet life: never click on an unknown e-mail attachment. Once someone does, MyDoom begins to send itself to the names in that person’s e-mail address book. If no one opened the attachment, the virus’s destructive power would never be unleashed. “It takes affirmative action on the part of the clueless user to become infected,” wrote Scott Bowling, president of the World Wide Web Artists Consortium, expressing frustration on the group’s discussion forum. “How to beat this into these people’s heads?”
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p>I’ve always counted myself somewhat lucky in this regard. I owe a lot of my geek leanings towards my parents (specifically, my mom, in a somewhat unusual reversal of sterotype), and while I’ve surpassed them in my knowledge base, I can generally rest assured that they’re quite competent enough to avoid many of the more obvious “duh” issues on their own. If they run into something that they can’t solve on their own, while they’re not above tossing a quick question my way to see if it’s something I can solve quickly, they also don’t mind if it’s something that they need to seek “official” assistance with.
The majority of my friends tend to either be at least as computer-literate as I am (if not more so), or at the other extreme, avoiding those infernal machines at all costs. Those few that are in the middle ground — well, if they’re friends with me, they’re likely friends with a lot of other ‘puter geeks at the same time, and will rapidly discover that they have no excuse for incompetence. 
That said, though, I’ve certainly seen the backlash coming. One of the big benefits I’ve found to being a Mac user is ducking tech support issues. While I know that I know my way around Windows, when I do get the occasional “why won’t this work?” question from acquaintances or co-workers, it’s very easy to just assume a befuddled expression, mumble something about being a smug virus-free mac-using bastard, toss in a few pointed comments about Windows stability, and go on my merry little way.
(via Jacqueline)
iTunes: “Blue Nun, The” by Beastie Boys, The from the album Check Your Head (1992, 0:32).
CJ
Brandon
Tim Who?
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Amen for alternative hardware and operating systems. They are the ultimate excuse maker for having to help people fix stupid problems with their computer. I’ve been falling behind in saying “no” to people asking for help recently, and I’m paying the price for it. From tutoring a hardworking but quite slow beginning programmer to helping a mechanical engineer with his dying operating system, I can’t seem to shake people off who need assistance these days.
I’m going to start charging.
As a SysAdmin for a fairly technical software development company, with folks ranging from old-school Cobol Mainframe programmers to QA testers with a knack for breaking everything, I’d say that being ‘technical’ isn’t enough.
Super-secure software is like really big deadbold locks on your door. The really bad guys will still get through it (probably by going around it and breaking a window instead), and shiny expensive locks look like fun to try and break to somebody.
For example: One of our senior Customer Support staff called Helpdesk to come look at an email that he felt was suspicious before he deleted it. The email made it past 2 email anti-virus servers and the desktop AV software, but the Support guy correctly wasn’t taking any chances. The helpful Helpdesk staffer went over, saw that it was a .zip file, thought to himself, “oh, it’s a .zip archive and the Anti-Virus software didn’t kick off, it must be fine!” Then he opened it to see what was inside.
Sadly, that was the first MiMail/a virus to hit our system. Fortunatly for everyone, it wasn’t lethal, but our email server was offline for a couple hours while we scrubbed the mailboxes and mail queues. In 2 years, it’s the only one to get through the scan software, and I think we’ve all learned our lesson, but we also now block email transmission of .zip files too. That’s a real PITA.
People need to learn to treat the internet, computers, and software as suspiciously as they treat the front door of an apartment on the wrong side of the tracks that looks like a crack house. It’s scary out there. Trust no one. If it’s important, get off your ass and conduct your business face-to-face.
We (as technologists) need to set the expectation that it’s like we’re all on a very crowded subway. Most of the time, with so many folks around, your chances are pretty good that the bad guys won’t bug you, particularly in the nice parts of town. But keep a can of mace in your pocket and keep all of your senses on high alert all the same. You never know.