I think you underestimate the strength of the defenses that can be prepared from some second-hand PC hardware, the Fedora Core distribution, and the application of a little knowledge and time.
I perfectly agree with almost everything what you wrote, and don't find what I wrote to be really contradicting.
I was talking in general, what you can find in an average home. Not abuot what you can do if you have a bit of salt in your head. Average user has AV software with license that expired at least year or two ago (so his AV isn't really working), crappy firewall with UPnP enabled (so that any piece of spyware can dig holes through it) and nice collection of at least dozen trojans happily running oh his/hers machine. Average home user goes to the store, buys a box, and it simply works. He uses it once a week, and does absolutely no configuration/maintence on it (nor wants to be bothered with it). He thinks he has AV, because that's what sales person told him (in reality he got 90-day license bundled with his PC, most pepople will never extend it). You say Linux. Average home users responds with "is it something for eating, or new soap brand"? Hack, I even saw people connecting ADSL modems to LAN ports of those small router/firewall boxes you can buy cheap nowdays (because local ADSL provider gives instructions/support (and software for connecting, which you really do not need at all) that only works with ADSL modem connected directly to PC). Configuring broadband router to authenticate over PPPoE (two clicks in web browser) was too complex task for them. That same average user will turn off Windows firewall first time something doesn't work (and some "tech support" person asks him to try turning it off and walks him through the steps), and simply leave it off so that his favorite MP3 sharing application works... Should I continue or simply stop now and have my lunch?
-- Aleksandar Milivojevic <amilivojevic@xxxxxx> Pollard Banknote Limited Systems Administrator 1499 Buffalo Place Tel: (204) 474-2323 ext 276 Winnipeg, MB R3T 1L7
