Am I safe?
Hi everyone.
Leo Notenboom here for AskLeo.com. The question is a very simple one.
I did all the things you said to do, am I safe?
Now I'm recording this answer because
it is an answer that I need to be able to point people at frequently.
It is not something that I just have
a plain answer for reasons that will become apparent in a moment.
But it is such a common question,
a lot of people end up feeling like they're at risk of something, say,
malware, and they've done whatever they can to clean it up.
So they wonder, when all is said and done, are they safe?
Am I safe?
Well, the answer will, in fact, disappoint you.
Here's the problem.
There is no such thing as safe on the Internet.
There just isn't.
There is no pinnacle of safety that says
once you reach this point, nothing can happen.
You can be safer.
You could be more safe or less safe.
But there is no absolute point at which you are done.
There is no point at which you are safe.
One of the problems, ultimately, it's a logic problem.
I can't prove that your machine isn't infested with malware.
I can't prove that my machine isn't infested with malware.
You can't prove a negative.
We can do all of the things we're supposed to do, keeping our software up to date,
running antimalware scans, doing all the right things.
But there's still no way to prove to know that we are absolutely safe.
Because we can't prove that there's still not something that's made its way onto our
machine, even after addressing a problem that you might have encountered.
And you've done all of the right steps to
clear up that problem, remove that malware, change that Privacy setting.
Whatever it is, there's still no way to know that there isn't something lurking.
Now, there are a couple of things specifically for me when it comes to me
that go beyond just not being able to prove negative.
And that's something that I have to mention, because it so often factors
into not only my answers, but what happens after.
For example, following instructions matters.
It sounds really silly.
It does.
But following instructions is really, really important.
Now I get it.
The instructions have to be understandable.
They have to be clear.
They have to be unambiguous.
I try to do that.
I really do try to do that.
But even so, with the clearest instructions possible,
they're pointless if they're not followed carefully.
So when you ask, Are you safe after having followed my instructions,
I don't know that you actually followed my instructions.
Now, something else.
I could be wrong.
I'll freely admit it. I could be wrong.
I make mistakes.
Even if I understand your situation as
best as I possibly can, there's still a possibility that I could be wrong.
I'm fallible.
Even if there were such a thing as perfect safety and there isn't I will not be so
presumptuous as to claim that I could lead you to it.
It could be something else.
I've often commented that computers and the Internet are also incredibly
complex, that it's amazing they work at all.
It really is. Sometimes it's a daily miracle.
But given that things are as complex as they are, It's silly to suggest that there
might not be something else Lurking in amongst all of that complexity
in the shadows that might compromise your safety.
So is safety futile?
No, it's not.
That's not what I'm saying at all.
Striving for safety Being as safe as you possibly can is critical.
While there is no such thing as absolute security,
there's pretty close.
You can get close, and that's the goal.
The closer you are, the less likely something bad is going to happen to you.
And that's why I keep pointing to the litany of things you're supposed to do.
Keeping your software up to date,
Running up to date antimalware tools and security tools,
understanding what Phishing looks like, Knowing not to open attachments that you
weren't expecting those kinds of things the kinds of things that are covered
in my article, Internet Safety Seven Things You Need
to do to Keep Your Computer Safe on the internet.
It's probably my most important article and this is why?
Because there is no such thing as absolute safety.
You can only get close.
And that article is all about the steps
You Need to take to get as close as possible.
So the bottom line here is if you're asking Am I safe?
You're asking the wrong question.
The only possible answer to that is no or I don't know.
There's no way for me to know.
And in reality, there's no way for you to know.
If somebody ever tells you that yes, you are now safe, either they're lying or
they don't understand the complexity of the situation.
Now the questions
that Are Important For You To ask Are things like Am I mostly safe?
Am I 95% safe?
Am I safer Than I was before?
Especially after you've eradicated some malware Or Taken some steps?
Those are all realistic and valid questions.
Am I as safe as I need to be?
Is probably the most important question of all.
For updates.
For comments for links related to this video and more, visit askleo.com/142753.
I'm Leo Notenboom and this this is AskLeo.com. Thanks for watching.