One fundamental difference: if you don't change the oil in your car all you cause trouble for is yourself, while if you don't take care of your computer when it comes to malware you cause trouble for other people. A better analogy would be with keeping the brakes and lights on your car in working order, because if you neglect them you may not only damage your car but cause damage to other people's cars and bodies. And guess what, we do in fact have laws about keeping brakes, lights and other safety-related parts of your car in working order. If you don't, you can get nailed with a fine, confiscation of your car and/or temporary or permanent revocation of your license to drive a car. Which sounds an awful lot like what Scott's suggesting, come to think of it. So if it works well for cars (and it does, see reality) why is it so inappropriate for computers?

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