You can't prevent stupid...

So, we have a client that is converting their entire organization from Windows to Mac. Great. Love it. Less work for me (after it's done) and a happy client. Reason? Some people couldn't stop clicking on every link they received via email. Ouch.

Part of this is getting a new iMac for the top couple people, for their home. Great. Good for them.

So one of our engineers heads out to one of the top people's house, to set up the new iMac. He gets it all set up and starts to install Office 2011. The top person notes that our engineer is prompted for a password to install software. They don't like that. They ask our engineer to disable that. The engineer, who's never been asked that before, sends me a text message to see if I know how to do this. I've never been asked to do this on an Apple product before either. I search Google to see if this is even possible. As I expected, it is not. Simply put, it is a fundamental part of Unix and, by extension, Mac OS X. The engineer eloquently explains that the reason it cannot be disabled is to enhance the security inherent within Mac OS X. Once explained, they like and appreciate the answer.

My question is... why do people get so defensive/frustrated/prickly when their computer prompts them to authorize the installation of software but also wonder how viruses and malware are so prevalent? Is it a power-thing? A "This-is-my-computer-how-dare-you-question-me" thing?

A large chunk of users just can't seem to understand that the "bad guys" are using a huge array of tactics to get to "your stuff". Whether that "stuff" is financial info, personal info or just the juicy pictures from last holiday's party, the "bad guys" just don't care. To them, it's just as much about having the "power" to do it, as it is to gain financially from it. Sadly, some companies have the same attitude about security.

Case in point, another client decided that $23 per year per computer for anti-virus was "too much". They are a double-digit, multi-million dollar a year company. So rather than pay the $400-600 per year (yes, that little) to ensure the entire company is protected against viruses and malware and maximize their productivity, they move to an open-source anti-virus solution. During the last 14 months, we've had to reinstall, from scratch (at their request), 14 laptops simply because their chosen anti-virus solution couldn't block viruses and malware adequately.

Seriously people, if you're too stupid not to protect your financial and intellectual property, you're probably too stupid to be in charge of said property.