[X4U] Commentary: Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree

[Michael Winter]

On Oct 17, 2006, at 12:31 PM, keith_w wrote:

> If you get bit, chances are 99+% that it was your incaution or  
> ignorance of 'net rules that got you.

That's pretty much what I'm saying. The first rule is, if you don't  
know what it is, don't click on it. With tinyURL you don't really  
know what you're clicking on unless you trust the source. And there  
are web sites that require no more of the user than to view the web  
page with a susceptible system to initiate some nasty side effects  
(rare, but they exist -mostly as proof-of-concept pages from what  
I've seen).

I don't have a problem with people using tinyURL. Its a good service.  
All I'm saying is that for me it raises a caution flag and I need to  
know the source before I click.

OK, actually the first rule is more along the lines of remembering  
you don't really know who you're communicating with on the internet.  
IIRC the vast majority of security breaches boil down to social  
engineering.

-Mike