[Heathkit] Viri (Was "no...")

[David Stinson]

IMHO, YMMV, etc.:

The answer is not more complex anti-V software, demanding more 
and more processing power to run anything else while it's active.
That's like trying to protect against EMP weapons; 
you can spend billions and the smart little devils 
can always build a bigger "bomb."

The complexity of our software is it's chief vulnerability.
The answer is to go back to simplicity.  What are most of us 
trying to do?  Communicate.  How has mankind done that,
 building a world and going to the moon, for about 100 millenia?
Simple writing and, when needed, simple graphics.
Hell- the computers Apollo used to get to the moon
had less power than a pocket calculator.
The human brain and can do a great deal with simple words
if we'll go back to actually using it.
Give up all the Java-wava-adobed bells and whistles.
Give up the CRAP we *think* we need, because we don't.
A simple, plain-text display will communicate 98% of everything
you need to say to anyone, anytime.  We're doing it right now.
You can't explote Java or Realplayer or Flash or 
the latest whizz-bang nonsense if it isn't running to begin with.
Communicate something closer to a "dumb" terminal.
Run simple graphics only when absolutely needed, and terminate them 
completely when not needed.  Anything that can't be said in words
can be shown with a simple graphic and NO add-on stupidity.
We did it just fine with DOS, BASIC, CP/M and other simple
op systems for decades.   Simple systems with few commands
have few holes to exploit.  You can't write a C++ / JAVA virus 
for a 'puter running something like a simple BASIC.
We did very complex process control with simple 
ladder-logic.  There are smart people out there.
Give them "stone knives and bear skins" and they
will find a way to fly to Saturn with them.
Stop depending on complex sub-routines
to do what you could do with a few keystrokes.
Use the vast, cheap memory and computing power to 
do simple tasks faster, rather than making more and 
vulnerable complex tasks.
Shed the crap and get back to bare bones, which will do
98% of the job.  Intelligent people will find 
a way to get the last 2%, if they really need it.
To quote wisdom about needlessly complex things:  

  "It costs more than it comes to."

Regards,
David S.