Encouraging email security.

[Graham]

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On Sunday 18 May 2003 5:06 am, David Picon Alvarez wrote:

> I don't think it's a
> question of UI any more, I think it's a question of needs and threat
> models.
[snipped]

I don't: I think its more to do with the nature of users.

Most people I know get a computer for access to the internet and they do=20
not want to bother with much else. New Windows users are blissfully=20
unaware that there is any other OS and they simply want the machine to=20
do everything it is capable of from power up: they do not want to=20
bother with the "how".  Linux users and Mac users are generally more=20
questioning because they have decided that they are not going to accept=20
the defaults offered.  Even so, it is remarkable how many people are=20
convinced AOL is "the internet".....

Most users wouldn't recognise a "threat model" if it jumped up and bit=20
them, and the majority don't care and have no interest in finding out. =20
Here in the UK, ISPs are required to monitor all internet traffic and=20
to pass on anything which is flagged as suspicious to the "relevant=20
authorities".  Most computer users in the UK do not see this as an=20
attack on personal liberty or their right to privacy, just part and=20
parcel of using the internet.  Many MUAs have encryption installed,=20
even if it is only S/MIME, and this certainly applies to Outlook=20
Express and even the Netscape email client.  Very few people use it=20
even so.

The most we can do is help that minority of users who do want to use GPG=20
and know of it even, to use it more effectively.  But we are fooling=20
ourselves if we believe that they will ever be a significant number of=20
users or anything less than a minority.
- --=20

Graham
GPG Keys at encryption.keys@ntlworld.com


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