dreadedmonkeygod . net

Last night I finally read an L.A. Times article that my dad had clipped for me a while back. The article discussed the rising tide of spam, viruses and spyware, and highlighted a handfull of people who have abandoned the net. I figured it would be kind of alarmist, and then rattle off the usual list of solutions.

Unfortunately, it wasn't even that good.

The article repeatedly mentioned that Windows users are having serious trouble keeping their computers clean, but did not point out that Mac and Linux users fare far better, and that there are alternatives to MS Internet Explorer. My parents continue to be annoyed by spyware and spam, and so this article caught their attention. Yet neither of them had heard of Firefox.

This weekend, I'm going to spend some time installing Firefox on my parents' computers, fortifying the firewall, and making sure their anti-virus subscriptions are up-to-date.

And I'll be incorporating a Switch to Firefox badge somewhere on this site. I don't usually like to promote individual products, but in this case an exception seems to be in order.