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Computer
Viruses and "False Authority Syndrome"
Implications
of False Authority Syndrome
COMPUTER
NEOPHYTES EASILY succumb to False Authority Syndrome. They
feel more important by spreading the word about dangerous viruses.
If someone else points out their errors, these people will often justify
their actions in terms of fear. As Marcello noted in his apology,
he feared both for his computer and for his job.
He probably didn't
mean to imply it, but Marcello may believe fear absolves his
ignorance. After all, if he worried only about his own computer and
his own job, then he already knew how to avoid the mythical
virus: he could feel safe in his own office. But Marcello went a step
further by telling others how to avoid the mythical virus.
False Authority
Syndrome contributes significantly to the spread of fear
& myths about computer viruses. Many pseudo-experts tell users
to erect defensive barriers where viruses seldom attack, often leaving
typical lines of attack exposed.
Widespread
myths & misinformation also convince people to fear safe
methods of computing and to put their trust in less-safe
methods. In her 1993 book Rx PC: The Anti-Virus Handbook,
Janet Endrijonas claims "approximately 70 percent of all viruses
are boot sector viruses." Wolfgang Stiller and other experts
ventured estimates above 90% as late as 1996.
Boot sector viruses,
by their nature, don't travel in software downloaded from BBSs --
yet pseudo-experts constantly point to downloaded software as the
biggest avenue for the spread of boot sector viruses.
In his book
Inside the Norton Antivirus™, Peter Norton dismisses
the myth about the dangers of downloaded software. "Bulletin
boards do more to spread the awareness of viruses
[emphasis added]... The primary method of communication concerning
viruses is through BBSes [sic]." Robert
Slade, writing in his book Guide to Computer Viruses,
goes even further:
"If
I had to choose one viral myth that contributed most to the unchecked
spread of [viruses] that exists today, it would be that of the 'safety'
of commercial software... The feeling of false security relies on
three assumptions: (1) that [software downloaded from BBSs] is a
major viral vector, (2) that commercial software is never infected...
(3) that there are no viral vectors other than software."
| It
really happened |
Employee
fired
when
his computer didn't
have a virus |
Thanks largely
to False Authority Syndrome, users now often panic at the first sign
of any odd computer behavior, sometimes inflicting more damage on
themselves than a virus could do on its own (assuming they even had
a virus in the first place).
Ross
Greenberg earned international fame as one of the pioneers in
IBM PC antivirus software. He went into semi-retirement in his mid-30s.
Greenberg continues to lecture about viruses, wrapping up with a
simple analysis of how he made his fortune: "I'd still be slaving
away at a desk for another 25 years if people backed up [their computer
data] and kept a cool head."
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