An example, in our opinion is the
sycophant running loose on WOT's forum who goes by the name of
HpHosts. This person appears to be so desperate for recognition and Web traffic (and
money?) that he'll conjure up all sorts of ghosts and demons, trying
scare people with sensational reviews of supposed malicious
activities performed by ad networks and programs or sites which are
about as dangerous as your 85 year-old uncle Jim. He's getting what
he wants. A lot of traffic, recognition -- and somehow, through all his irrational
babbling he's gathered quite a following. We were shocked when
Windows Secrets newsletter, who should know better, quoted HpHosts
in one of their articles. Does HpHosts actually have a shred of
credibility? If he didn't before, we're sure he does now.
In our society, it seems, you can gain recognition and make big
money by doing crazy things - for example, the Balloon Boy escapade or the beauty queen
who was forced to give up her crown who claimed to be so God-fearing
and moral and was later found out to be anything but moral. The
Balloon Boy family, the beauty queen, and all sorts of other dubious
people are rewarded with million-dollar book contracts and highly
paid TV appearances, while the hard working folks trying to the
right thing, struggle to pay their bills. HpHosts and people of his
ilk, unfortunately, in our opinion, fall into the category of the
Balloon Boy family and the beauty queen. He appears to be hoping to
reap big rewards from his antics. We'll
bet people are flocking to his Web site thinking this "expert" knows
something. He doesn't know much of anything from what we've seen -
he seems to copy/paste the same vitriolic nonsense to every review
he writes. Somehow, though, he's fooled Windows Secrets and WOT (Web
of Trust).
When supposedly knowledgeable
newsletters and Web sites quote or give credence to someone like
HpHosts, it lends an air of credulity to them, we don't think they
deserve. In our opinion, little this man writes has any basis in
fact. But as is so so typical in today's society, those who make
the most ridiculous and unsubstantiated statements, get the
most attention.
It's no wonder, then, when our newsletter came last Friday from the
wrong address, many
of you panicked and thought we'd been hacked. There is just so much
misinformation on the Web, in so many places, it's really
hard to separate the truth from the fiction.
When knowledgeable people and
newsletters give credence to those who call themselves "experts" and
give them attention (and Web traffic) it only exacerbates the
problem. When so-called experts prattling on about the danger of
cookies, advertising networks, and spew misinformation and half-truths and
make unfounded statements and spread fear - it's no wonder
people have a hard time discerning the truth from the risible. The
things which are really dangerous get lost among the things that
aren't.
We understand how and why people
have a such a hard time understanding computers and the Internet. So
every week we do our best to inform without scaring. We substantiate
and verify - we try to educate without fear mongering. We
don't think sensationalism has any place in a Windows newsletter or forums
like Web Of Trust's. You won't find any sensationalism in our
newsletters - ever.
We'll never try to sell you something by scaring you, and we'll
never use sensationalism in an attempt get more Web traffic or more
subscribers to our newsletters. And, trust us, in this year of the
slow economy it seems we're paying for telling the truth. Truth, it
seems, sure doesn't
drive much Web traffic. It's a shame that making outrageous claims
and and scaring people seems to be the key to getting noticed and
getting attention. It shouldn't be that way, but it is.
So, yes, we can easily understand why so many people are
confused about viruses, worms, trojans, adware, spyware and all the
other bad things about computers and the Internet. Fear mongering and misinformation
and self-serving prophets of doom, only serve to obfuscate the truth
and make facts harder to find.
We still
cannot understand why sites like WOT continue to give voice to
people like HpHosts. Allowing fear mongers and sensationalists to
roam free only hurts their credibility. If respectable Web
sites and newsletters like
Windows Secrets continue to give self-proclaimed experts
continue to give recognition to fear mongerers and attention
seekers, they are only hurting their own credibility and making it
harder for those who are looking for answers to find them.
That's our opinion, what's yours?
