Windows Vista: Security Through Endless Warning Dialogs

Jeff Atwood on the supposedly improved security model in Windows Vista:

The problem with the Security Through Endless Warning Dialogs school of thought is that it doesn’t work. All those earnest warning dialogs eventually blend together into a giant “click here to get work done” button that nobody bothers to read any more. The operating system cries wolf so much that when a real wolf — in the form of a virus or malware — rolls around, you’ll mindlessly allow it access to whatever it wants, just out of habit.

Mac OS X does a really, really good job balancing security and convenience; it sounds like with Vista, Windows is overcompensating and veering from “too convenient” to “too annoying”.

★ Tuesday, 25 April 2006