[Enigmail] First signed message -- Is tinyurl.com safe and reliable?

[Robert J. Hansen]

James Gillespie wrote:
> Thanks to your reply, and Robert J. Hanson's, I feel comfortable dealing
> with the ZA alert.

Hansen, not Hanson.  You can think of me as being just like the Mozilla
security guy Robert Hansen -- except that I use my middle initial.

Or think of me as just like the Alaskan serial killer Robert Hansen, or
the Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer Robert Hansen, or the other security
geek at http://www.robhansen.com, or... etc.  There's not a shortage of
us Robert Hansens.

(For those who wonder, my friends all call me "Rob".  I only go by
"Robert J. Hansen" to avoid confusion with the other "Robert Hansen" in
the security geek community.)

> If it's not too far off topic, what do you use, other than ZA  to guard
> against virus and malware?

This may seem like a flip remark.  It's not meant to be.

I use OS X and Linux.

One of the reasons why viruses and malware flourish is because of the
software monoculture of Windows.  There's a reason why farmers plant
slightly different seeds of crops -- that way, if a blight hits one
farmer, other farmers have a better chance of being unaffected.  A
little genetic diversity improves the resistance of the entire community
against disease.

Similarly with OS X and Linux.  By choosing those operating systems, I
essentially immunize myself against viruses and malware, and help
contribute to the health of the entire internet ecosystem.

If you're concerned about viruses and malware, the best way to defend
against them is to move to a non-Windows operating system.  Many Linux
distributions today are very well-polished and easy to use.  There's a
learning curve, of course, but it's not a bad one -- many people even
find it to be fun.  And OS X is just ... well ... magic.



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