Nerd’s Words (sm)

We’re big fans of Doctor Who in this house. For those unfamiliar, Doctor Who is a British-made science fiction TV show. In a recent episode, the “bad guys” were in the form of water that turns you into a zombie if you drink it or touch it. At the height of the attack, Doctor Who utters these words of doom: “Water always gets in. Water always wins.” Eventually water did manage to seep in, with much zombification of the good guys before the good Doctor could win the day.

Malware is like that: pounding on your firewall at all hours of the day or night, battering you with spam, always looking for a way in to infect your files and turn your computer into a zombie. A recent security bulletin tells of a new security hole in one of the most popular programs in the world: Adobe Reader. You have a copy of Adobe Reader on your computer, and therefore you have a huge hole in your security. Eventually water is going to get in.

When I get a machine in the shop here, after I fix what is wrong, I always apply dozens of settings to make your computer more “water-tight.” Some of these settings would take tens of pages to describe if I were to write them down. Security is complicated.

So what are you saying, Lionel? What I’m saying, thank you, is two things. Security is important, and security is more complicated than you can keep track of.

Even if your computer is running OK and isn’t infected, it needs a trip to the doctor’s to prevent it from getting infected. And I’ll do that for the usual price of $99 and two business days, but I’ll make a deal with you. If there isn’t any malware on it, I’ll only charge you half price. I think the issue of security is that important.

So the question you gotta ask yourself is, “Do I feel lucky?”
Well, do ya, punk?

-LLiioonneell
Lionel Goulet
(781) 209-0856
Te Deum

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