Worthless Digital Security Advice

Some advice isn't worth the paper it's written on - more so if it happens to written in digital ink. Sure, security software tends to eat up a sizable chunk of your desktop's processing capabilities and can be downright annoying when the antivirus engine decides on an impromptu full-disk scan in the middle of the video editing you were doing... but sure;y we can do without advice like the following:


This is from CNNMoney and their story on how to "Speed up your sluggish computer".

Granted there are many sucky protection suites out there (and many more fake-antivirus products that criminals are peddling), but this particular advice entry is unhelpful and funny at the same time.

Firstly,this particular advice is ill informed. Sure, there are some overlaps in protection capabilities like anti-popup blockers and firewalls, but only on paper. They're complementary overlaps, as their capabilities to perform (and be managed) as pop-up blockers and firewalls tend to be quite different and increase overall. Defense in depth etc. Sure - like I said earlier - desktop protection is a dog on system resources.

Secondly, while I have nothing against ESET's Nod32 Antivirus product (I even use it on a couple of my computers at home - along with a handful of other av products), reference in this "guide" for speeding up sluggish computers smacks of a paid-for advertisement. Further depreciating the advice.

Third and final? "The Mac Fix" funnily enough is true - Mac users tend to not use security software. Like motorcycle riders swerving amongst rush hour traffic on the highway without a helmet, I'd class these Mac users as "temporary citizens" of the Internet.