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General discussion

S&D Search and Destroy and......

Nov 26, 2004 2:25PM PST

Why I support: Yahoo.com and not FreeWare Everywhere!

We all need to do one thing; e-mail your favorite web service, like Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google and tell them what you want in a webbrowser. Yahoo did it first, but AOL subscribers also get FREE virus scan! Help me tell these folks the truth about the web. If I pay for a DSL connection from lets say, Acme Cable company, said company should provide me with EVERYTHING I need to be secure and for ONE PRICE PLEEEEEAAASSSSEEEEE!!!!!!!
My service provider said, Quote "We are not a utility, but a convienience." They are correct! they are a convienient way to enjoy media! An altrenative to books or television. Well, guess what; If I buy a book or a television, I pay once or I pay one monthly fee for the WHOLE convienience.
THe great Web should be the same! We need to yell this out to everyone involved, because we the consumer, are being duped and robbed! I should not have to pay a second time for Anti-virus software! A third time for a movie player or any other junk it should come with my media connection! How would everyone feel about paying an extra dollar on your cable bill, just so you could watch Bloomberg TV or the news?

Discussion is locked

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Re: S&D Search and Destroy and......
Nov 26, 2004 8:52PM PST

If you buy a car from a car dealer, do they pay for you to pass your driving test?

If you buy a cooker from a showroom, do they make sure you can cook?

You're right of course. People "should" be educated about internet viruses. But who does it? The computer manufacturer? The Internet Service Provider? Or you?

Mark

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Re: S&D Search and Destroy and......
Nov 27, 2004 10:09PM PST

If you want a "free" virus scan and firewall, then subscribe to msn Premium at about $2 per week and get a fair bit of other stuff as well, like a spam blocker, encyclopedia, extra storage and so on.
To pursue the car analogy: except for special offers, you don't get extras and a tank of fuel for free.
To mix the metaphor: horses for courses and it is simply unreasonble to except a specialist in one area, such as a server, to be expert in other areas.

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ISP or OSP ...that..is the Question ;o)
Nov 28, 2004 10:13PM PST

A few years back, I was an AOL Guide, and I spent all my online time as an AOL User.
After taking their training to become a Guide, I was all too aware of the Corporate side of Service providers, and like any other business, they are motivated solely by profit.
What youre asking for isnt unreasonable from the end user viewpoint, but isnt priority on the list of the companies we all use.
AOL teach their Guides to make a specific definition to all their customers.
"AOL is an -ONLINE- service provider, rather than just an Internet Service provider"
Setting themselves apart from other ISP`s by offering a "full and complete service for all our patrons".
In effect, AOL acted as a "nanny" to new and existing users, sheltered in a closed environment like a sort of Pseudo-Disney Land.
What youre asking for is basically something similar... you want an ISP that will filter your emails, files, web content etc...without fears of being attacked from the mucky world of the world wide web.
Well, they do exist, but you get what you pay for... and just as in Disney, you can get your pockets picked, and fall and break an ankle, there is no guarantee of safety online ...only to the extent that YOU protect yourself.
I have One firewall, one virus scanner, two SPyware programs, and I use PandaScan once a month.
I get the odd malware trapped by this stuff, and the spyware programs are essential.
Basically, I`m not sure I`d trust ANY ISP or OSP to protect my files completely... I`d always want to make sure it was me that had control..rather than some major Corp. who is only interested in my monthly fees. Happy

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Re: S&D Search and Destroy and......
Nov 28, 2004 5:17AM PST

Web services are not driven by what other kinds of businesses do but rather by what they can do without. If they can get by not providing protection, they are not likely to. If business is significantly hurt because they fail to provide adequate protection, the amount of protection they offer will increase (along with the price). Drug stores and department stores used to not provide groceries; now, they do, not because of any analogy but because it is good for business. I wish there were a lot more consumer protest because that's what businesses respond to. Consumer protest provides a means of checks and balances in capitalism.

grandpaw