The Balancing Act Between Computer Security and Convenience

In the past, computer virus writers developed malicious code to become famous. This trend has been steadily changing and we now see a new breed of malicious code that is written with a motivation of financial gain. Computer users are vulnerable to such attacks and security has become one of the domains that affect every computer user. Users often find themselves performing a balancing act between securing their systems and enjoying the “easy life”. Humans are highly task oriented and they tend to discount security if it gets in their way. Some users are unaware of the risks posed by computer viruses/spyware and unprotected networks, while several informed users compromise their security for convenience. With the growing digital infrastructure, the necessity of networking various devices is even more pronounced thereby adding up to the complexities of protecting it. Few users understand the difference between securing their network and protecting their system from viruses and spyware, and the varying degree of security awareness among users translates into inadequate protection for some networks. This paper reports findings from a user research describing the deficiencies and flaws in today’s security software, outlines the user behavior to understand their perspective on computer and network security and describes why security is sometimes compromised for convenience. A “virtual gateway” security service model is also proposed to make security transparent to the users by providing protection at the Internet service provider level.