it's way too easy to blame the users. Why not require anyone who needs a computer to get an IS degree? Truth is, most people want to use their computer as they use their telephone or VCR. It is a tool to write letters, do some bookkeeping, play games, send email and surf the web. No one expects to have to study inner workings of operating systems to do those things. And they shouldn't have to.

Anyone who markets an operating system to the "average" consumer should either make the system secure or at least inform the user of security risks in terms that users can understand, whether it is Microsoft or Red Hat or Apple.

It's like buying a hair dryer and having to study how electricity works, and fully understand home wiring to allow the user to make an educated decision about whether s/he really wants to plug it in and turn it on. That is preposterous. You buy a hair dryer trusting that it won't explode in your hand, and it usuall doesn't. They also come with really large labels on the cord warning about serious risks and threats that are relatively easy to avoid.

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