El! Ay! Vay! Shan!

I couldn't help but find my eyes drawn to this comment by Gadi Evron in a widely circulated piece on Botnets:

"The war to make the Internet safe was lost long ago, and we need to figure out what to do now."

Now, Gadi kicks ass, but I disagree with this sentiment. How have we "lost" the war to make the Internet safe, with the implication that we're just twiddling our thumbs waiting for doomsday? I don't get it. People are made safer through education and assistance every single day. Is that not a small example of "winning the war"? We've only "lost" if the web is so utterly polluted with garbage that the last person left gives up, switches off the lights and leaves the building. Considering Gadi is involved in all kinds of anti bad-guy stuff himself, I don't understand the basis behind the quote above, unless it's completely out of context.

I mean, pretty much everything, everywhere is unsafe by default. I can blind you with a spoon and scoop your brains out with a pencil sharpener. It doesn't mean I'm actually going to do it, it doesn't automatically mean your PC is going to be JACKED AND KILLED, LOL within seconds of going online and it doesn't mean we need fear the reaper.

Come on guys, chins up. We're actually kicking huge amounts of ass past the usual round of doom and gloom headlines. Adware companies are continually on the ropes and made to look real bad entirely through their own boobery. Volunteer-driven initiatives such as MIRT, PIRT and Shadowserver are giving people who thought they might be safely tucked away in obscure pockets of the net cause for concern. We still have an endless supply of forums and websites providing education, assistance and clean up for free. Groups such as the ASC and CDT are providing the legal mumbo-jumbo headshots that we previously lacked. Hell, I have people running round in online videogames where you can report bad guys 24/7. Does this sound like we've lost anything? I'd say we're gaining with regards what we can do to these people in leaps and bounds. Were we ever as co-ordinated and organised as we are today? I don't think so.

The war isn't lost by a long shot, and we are most definitely not here to just mop up the overspill dripping out of the blocked toilet.

If I'm not explaining myself very well, perhaps Bono can elaborate. Sing it, you crazy pretentious mofo. And dress the Edge up like the guy in the Village People again. That was awesome.