BleepingComputer.com: Is a new Internet the solution to Internet and computer security?

John Markoff, of the New York Times, wrote an interesting article today in the Week In Review about whether or not we need a new Internet due to the increased and uncontrollable computer security issues we currently face.

John writes

"What a new Internet might look like is still widely debated, but one alternative would, in effect, create a “gated community” where users would give up their anonymity and certain freedoms in return for safety. Today that is already the case for many corporate and government Internet users. As a new and more secure network becomes widely adopted, the current Internet might end up as the bad neighborhood of cyberspace. You would enter at your own risk and keep an eye over your shoulder while you were there."

Lack of anonymity is not the solution in my opinion, and even if it was, it would be almost impossible to prove someone's identity, which John touches upon in his last paragraph. Instead it is the lack of education on how to properly and safely use your computer that is the main issue. Even if a new Internet was created where users had to give up their anonymity, it would still not stop users who got infected via other means from infecting other users of this secure network. Yes, certain sites may not exist that peddle malware, but what is to stop a legitimate site from getting hacked and distributing malware?

So how do we protect our computers from malware? Education and the proper security software and hardware. Once you know how to safely use and protect your computer, you have gone a long way to making sure you do not become infected. The article, though, is a very interesting read and I suggest it for anyone interested in computer and Internet security.

That's pretty much how it is....some people are not educated in safe computing on the internet, which is a big problem. As you said, even with a secure network, there will be some out there that'll hack and infect other areas. And then there are still other infections that you can get without going onto the internet (hint hint flash infections hint hint).

With Windows Live, e-mail and instant messaging being transmitted to both cell phones and home computers, all it would take is one chat. That plus remote viewing would enable someone to take over a computer quite easily (I saw 3 different remote viewing topics posted here over the weekend, with 3 very different responses from the mods). 2 of the topic starters had virtually no information in their profiles. One request was never answered; one was turned down; and one got advice. I myself have found my remote viewing turned on (before Windows Live) when I had previously ticked it off.

One thing that would help would be advance notice to users by companies like MS on a personal basis of changes that will shortly take place and where to research them; also, certain ISPs have done a very poor job of either informing their customers about necessary upgrades or alerting them to changes in program behavior. Many computer performance problems turn out to be false alarms due to application compatibility problems or gaps in necessary upgrades; I think that may give some users a false sense of where some of their problems are coming from.

scff249, on Feb 16 2009, 08:10 AM, said:

I used to know people who didn't even know how to properly turn off a computer.

I will happily agree that a new rewrite of the major protocols would be not only welcomed but the best thing to happen. For example, SMTP, POP, and HTTP were all written, to begin with, as a very poor-man's idea of what could work, sort of a "here's how we could do it now let's write it better". Only they didn't write it better, it was used as is. TCP/IP (and specifically IP) were written as a sort of patchwork "let's do this" rather than as a "we need these particular concerns and it should be expandable and all that".

I don't think a new gated community internet is necessary, however with certain protocols requiring authoritative identification would be a must. No more spam. At all. All I'm sayin.

"He who would sacrifice freedom for security will end up with neither freedom or security." Benjamin Franklin