When you purchase a computer, is it so you can load anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-phishing software?   No, we purchase computers to surf the internet, connect to on-line services such as Amazon or check our accounts on-line with our banks.
 
To compare, If when you purchased a car and found out you would have to purchase door locks as an option from another company, you might take delivery but you would feel unsafe leaving the new car in a parking lot.   But that’s exactly what happens when you purchase a new computer. It doesn’t come with “door locks”. You are on your own vulnerable to many security threats. You can “drive” the computer on the “highway” aka Internet, but you leave yourself vulnerable to attacks.The company who manufactures the computer doesn’t make the operating system. Without the operating system you can’t use the computer. The company who makes the operating system doesn’t provide sufficient security to protect from all those vulnerabilities. Many companies manufactures the components of cars but the end product comes with door locks, most with security systems.

So why can Microsoft or Apple or HP or IBM or Dell manufacture an end product that delivers the same product to the consumer? Why does the consumer have to work through a complicated web of sub-market security products all jockeying for our business, promising an all-inclusive product but never making the mark. No one solution seems to be the answer. The consumer if left guessing which security software to load never truly knowing if they are fully protected. And where is the guarantee?
 
Recently I purchased a software application from a company called Dragon.  The application “Naturally Speaking” looked to be a cool utility.  Promised on the package, its easy integration into Microsoft Office Suite but installed, it rendered my computer unusable!  Turns out the installation modified my registry and deleted a critical system file “normaliz.dll”.  Without it, the explorer application (the one that publishes icons on your desktop) would not load!  To date, I have installed additional utilities (registry scan software – an additional $50) in an attempt to fix this problem.  My system is limping along and I’m pretty close to rebuilding.  The $129 software application may end up costing me over $1000 in time and effort.
 
So to conclude this non-directional rant, I suggest caution.  Caution in the applications you purchase, caution in the sites you visit, and especially caution in those Active X, and other “click-throughs” you encounter as you surf the “highway”.