By Tom Bull
I think everyone would agree that they want to be safe. At home, in the car, at the airport, at work and online.
But security can be annoying. Taking your shoes, belt and jacket off when you go through airport security can be a real pain at times. We know it’s coming as we stand in line and we’ve become accustomed to it. But even though security checkpoints are commonplace, there are still times when people forget to take out their laptops, remove their watches or belts, take off their shoes or jackets. Sometimes, we get pulled off to the side and a TSA agent has to use the wand to scan us. And then there are the times you read about someone who tried to get a gun or ammunition through the checkpoint. It’s crazy and it happens. But the technology there will catch it and that technology saves lives.
When seatbelts were first introduced in cars, people wouldn’t put them on because they messed up their clothes or interfered with comfortable driving. Now we all use a seatbelt in the name of safety and it has become a habit – a very good habit to have. When Olds- mobile launched its Toronado in 1973 with airbags, that rang in a whole new era of safety possibilities. Now all cars have airbags because they save lives.
So, what about safety online?
We should all be aware by now of the impor tance of safety and security when it comes to technology and being online. Good password management, two-factor authentication when we try to log in to our email provider or bank, anti-virus protection, facial recognition, fingerprint logins. Like other safety precautions, these are now com- monplace, and some consider them annoying. But they really are necessary.
I could tell you loads of stories about people who ignore security practices or warnings and end up in bad situations: losing access to their social media accounts, being victimized by wire fraud, or even being targeted for identity theft. Yes, it can be annoying and frustrating, but I think we all agree that safety and security while online are a necessity. We don’t want to lose access to our digital lives, money or identity!
Sometimes, that safety and security can go wrong. The recent CrowdStrike computer outage had a global impact. Windows computers that run some of the largest systems were affected. Airlines, hotels, hospitals, banks, credit card processors and loads more were down for the day or longer.
CrowdStrike is an enterprise-class endpoint security software product that is installed on many Windows servers, laptops, desktops and tablets to keep them safe. A flawed update pushed out to all of the endpoints that had CrowdStrike installed caused a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) and rendered those systems unusable. Technicians and IT departments around the globe scrambled to recover. Some had an easy time. Some did not. (Can you say “Delta Airlines?”)
In the end, CrowdStrike is an exceptional piece of software. It is considered one of the best, if not the best, in the world, which is why so many clients use it. While they are still trying to figure out whom to blame for this debacle, the fact remains that safety and security can be annoying, but they are also necessary.
That safety and security has a cost – and it’s worth it.
Tom Bull has been in the computer and technology field since 1981. He spent 25 years working with small businesses to manage their technology before star ting Two River Computer in Fair Haven in 2006.
The article originally appeared in the August 8 – 14, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
