I completely agree about Kaspersky. I didn't mention it earlier because it's not something the general user considers (but I do and it is about the best antiviral available, in my view). Most people can go find Norton and/or McAfee, though. Either of those last two are better than relying on the freebie suite softwares that ISPs are starting to offer *for, hey, security!*. It's disappointing how many users I read who say that they use those and those only "because they're free" and because they assume their ISP is looking out for them. Hardly...
I mean, try asking your ISP to replace your hardrive when it's ruined by a worm.
Meaning, people who rely on what their ISPs offer for security are really either lazy or very dim.
Thanks for the Kaspersky recommendation.
I used to run a successful network-design company (before 9/11). Friends and family members are always asking me for my "computer expertise." My own answer is to use Unix-based OSes (I use a Mac for Microsoft Office type stuff and general productivity, and OSX Server on XServes, Linux, and OpenBSD on servers). I have de-malwared more PC's than I care to think about.
But for most people, a Mac is too odd (they want all the videos they get emailed to just run, and they want to use pirate software from their friends). So I set them up to fight the defensive fight with AV and anti-adware stuff (Spypot and Ad-Aware).
I do have some WIndows PCs but use them strictly for Microsoft Flight Simulator and some other aviation apps -- I do not attach them to the Internet.
About 1/3 of the traffic coming into my network lab, which I still have as a toy, is coming from zombied PCs. (most of the traffic is intitiated from inside the lab).
Worth noting that many corporations don't consider spyware bad. For instance, Verizon, Vonage, and all the online travel agencies (Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity etc). support spyware.
The answer is probably to make the individual the owner of his own data. You want my phone number? I get to set the price. Ditto for my credit information. That utopian idea'd never pass because the criminals and corporate greedheads that profit from this information can buy the criminals and personal greedheads that inhabit Congress.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F