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Some users have an "it will never happen to me" attitude, treating anti-malware software and system patches as an inconvenience. Others, at the other end of the extreme, rely too heavily on the software and believe that they can do whatever they want as long as the software is there to protect them. But anti-malware software is only the first step in a well-rounded security solution.

Anti-malware software isn't a panacea. It can help prevent you from getting hit by malware, but it can't eliminate it entirely. Regardless of how sophisticated an anti-malware software solution is, it can't prevent ignorance or downright stupidity on users' part from undermining its goal. Software needs to be coupled with basic safe computing knowledge and plain old common sense. After all, you can create the world's toughest lock, but what good is it if you keep the door wide open?

It has always been a footrace between those seeking to compromise our computers and those seeking to protect them. We, as computer users, need to do our part to help the latter in order to prevent ourselves from falling prey to the former. Malware is not an individual's problem; we all have a part to play. Negligent users are fodder for malware authors. Why give them the opportunity?

Malware authors, like loudmouth jerks, are who they are. You can't do anything to stop them from being who they are and doing what they do anymore than you can stop a duck from quacking. Their behavior is inherent in them. It's up to you to prevent them from adversely affecting your productivity and mental well-being, or at the very least, minimizing their effects. So the next time that loudmouth jerk comes into your office and goes on and on about his "totally boss" weekend, ask yourself if you did anything to bring it upon yourself.

Paul Chin (www.paulchinonline.com) is a freelance writer and journalist. He has previously worked in the aerospace and competitive intelligence industries as a software developer and intranet specialist. He currently writes on a wide range of IT topics, including systems development and security, digital communications and media, content management and web design.

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