Got me foxed

2006-02-19

To open with a caveat: it might have been something I did. However, to my knowledege the only recent change to my Internet Explorer settings was when I downloaded the recent series of security patches. It still works - after a fashion - but tends to lock up when too many windows are open. It also now fails to be able to get into the admin pages of my blog - sometimes.

There is a fascinating pseudo-philosophical subtext here, about what security is for in the first place. To my mind it's about preventing things that could slow one's productivity, while giving a certain level of protection to one's data. These principles are true for individuals as much as for enterprises. Trouble is, what happens when the very effort to implement security results in a loss of productivity, or in data compromise? That just blows everything.

Sadly, its a fact that malicious attacks are far less likely to cause any anguish than issues caused by personal incompetence or flaky software. I know this is true from my own experience and from those around me, and while I was at Quocirca we conducted some research that proved it reasonably conclusively.

It's all very interesting. Right now however, what's most interesting is how I can actually do what I sat down to do. There are a number of options, at the top of the scale I could reinstall everything on my computer, but I've already opted for the more mundane - to run up Firefox. And it works.

This could be a cue for another riff, on the subjects of software construction, overcomplexity, incumbent responsibility and so on, but I don't have time for all of that. The switch has been made, and now I'll need reasons to switch back. End of story.