WTF? National Internet Safety Month?

Found this via /. Those evil Microsoft haters who only exist to rant. I don't exist to rant, but I do it all the same.

But really, did you know this was "National Internet Safety Month"? Makes me think of programs when I was a kid (you know, eons ago in some deep-dark past when TVs had knobs) trying to encourage kids to brush their teeth. National Brighten Your Smile Month, or some such.

I'd rather see National Protection from the Terrorists Month, myself. Yes, we all could use some education about the real dangers the terrorists represent, since after all, they can actually blow my house up. Or something like that.

I'm not ranting that terrorism isn't real or doesn't represent a threat, but it's on par with tornadoes and earthquakes. We can get both of those things here, in the Great Midwest of Central Ohio. However, I don't sleep under my bed at night in the off chance a tornado will come along and bring everything down on my head. You know?

What's his name, mayor of New York--ah, Bloomberg--says we should all get a Life and quit worrying about things we can't control. OK, so we can control how safely we surf the Web. Sure, I think firewalls and anti-virus software are good things. I have both and I'm fanatical about my browsing safety. That's because I detest having to rebuild systems corrupted by rogue software, so I do what I can to keep malware off my home network.

But announcing an official freaking Internet Safety Month is like sanctioning every anti-virus vendor out there to hype up the damage potential of Teh Intarwebs. As the article says, "keeping those pornographers and sexual predators away will cost you a mere $70 a year…" Ahem.

Sadly, I get it. It's not about safety, it's about making money. Yep. Scare 'em, then tell 'em how much it will cost to alleviate their anxiety. I say: don't be anxious; don't worry about all the potential dangers, just be careful. Chances are if you aren't technically savvy, your kids are. What better way to ensure your computer is properly "protected" than to turn it over to your average 10 year old. Just be sure they ask before charging up your credit card.

The article alludes to the fact that the kids are wiser and less naive than we imagine. I think it's really the adults, who have come into this technology thing rather late in life, who are perhaps the more naive. Particularly if you believe you can install some sort of Internet monitoring software that your kids can't somehow get around.

Note to self: better change my password to something less obvious than "password". Have a nice day.