http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1390273,00.asp November 19, 2003 By Dennis Fisher LAS VEGAS - If software vendors and security companies don't get their act together and start producing better products, users will begin dropping off the Internet out of sheer frustration, predicted John Thompson, chairman and CEO of Symantec Corp., in his keynote speech at Comdex here Wednesday. Thompson challenged vendors to begin turning out more secure software solutions and to take the initiative in trying to protect customers from attackers and themselves. If that doesn't come to pass, then Internet users—especially less savvy consumers—will reduce the amount of time they spend on the Internet and only use it when they absolutely need to. "There may come a point where users see technology as more of a liability than an asset," Thompson said. "They'll just use the Web when they have to." In a speech that touched lightly on a wide range of topics but didn't delve deeply into any, Thompson saved most of his vigor for an attack on the way that lawmakers and technology companies are handling the spam problem. He was sharply critical of recent anti-spam legislation efforts on both the federal and state level and said that government regulation is not the right answer to the problem. "I predict that the spam legislation will be unmanageable and cause confusion among consumers," Thompson said. "Government regulation is not the answer. It will stifle innovation. You need to ask yourselves why some in our industry would advocate this." Thompson expanded on this theme after his speech, saying that spam is a unique animal, but one that can be tamed through some fairly simple changes in the technology and economics surrounding mass mailing. Drawing a parallel between e-mail and postal mail, Thompson said the reason that consumers aren't buried under a mountain of junk letters is that companies have to pay to send postal mail. He suggested that a similar model would help throttle the overwhelming levels of spam coursing through the Internet. "There is no cost [to send spam]; therefore, people send all kinds of junk. Service providers can fix this by changing the economics of the situation," he said. "Don't rely on legislative initiatives. A simple technology solution solves this problem. You know what's coming through your network. If someone is sending 100,000 e-mails, block them. I don't understand why you need to appeal to the government." Thompson also was dismissive of Computer Associates International Inc.'s announcement that it will give users free copies of its anti-virus software as part of Microsoft Corp.'s Protect Your PC campaign. "We've seen desperate acts by desperate people before," Thompson said. "If you don't have much of a share, it doesn't hurt you to give it away. We don't believe that securing the infrastructure is philanthropic. We'd like to get a return. But we're always ready to compete." - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomo@private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
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