Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. When a vendor uses it purely to sell you more stuff or unfairly tear down a competitor, FUD is evil. But when you’re talking about firewalls, viruses, network management, phishing, data security and content filtering… FUD’s a Public Service.

Crackers steal credit card databases, phishers swipe identities, and viruses convert victims to zombies… week in and week out. Despite a constant stream of warnings, lax users and network managers respond by shooting the messengers for spreading FUD: “You’re just trying to scare us.”

They chaffe at inconveniences like passwords, and constantly press for ever-easier access.

Meanwhile, many who deeply understand the dangers encrypt their hard disks, log into anonymous email accounts with three passwords and perform myriad gymnastics to foil attackers.

Truth is, FUD has three problems:

  • Users get tired of hearing the constant FUD yammering, and;
  • Anti-virus vendors frequently use fuzzy math to pump up claims, and;
  • Security firms cry about problems nobody can fix… yet.

Anti-virus companies point out viruses and rootkits… if they find them. And they’re feckless against the deadliest, narrowly-targeted attacks.

So until someone comes up with a better solution, consider FUD your best friend. Update all your stuff all the time. Question everything. When in doubt, don’t. And keep those shields up. Way up. Especially if you manage networks.

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