Depending on how long you’ve been using computers, you may well remember a time when, “Have you tried turning off and back on,” was the first thing you heard when trying to troubleshoot any issue. In the 90’s and into the 00’s this was the go-to first step of tech support. And then we entered what some of you might call the golden age of business computing ushered in by Windows 7, somewhat tarnished by Windows 8, and then, with Windows 10, an era that even I can look back on as a bastion of stability when compared to what we have now.
What the heck happened?
Two words: Internet and Cybercrime. I know, I know, both of those things have been around for a lot longer than Windows 10 and even Windows 7, but up until maybe 2012 or 2013, technology companies like Symantec, McAfee and Microsoft had the upper hand in that war. In 2013, with the arrival of the widely successful CryptoLocker-powered attacks, criminals understood what sort of money was at stake and poured all of their resources into cybercrime infrastructure that has evolved into a never-ending escalating battle of security breaches, software updates and increasingly complicated security rituals. All the while, technology itself has permeated every facet of our lives, resulting in things that we would have considered absurd 10 years ago, such as doorbells that require a two-factor login. Everything requires a password because everything is connected to the internet, and because of the ongoing arms race in cybersecurity, everything around us is constantly being updated in this frantic race with no finish line anywhere in sight. Long story short: expect to reboot your devices frequently going forward. There was a time when I could say, “Hey, reboot your computer every other week and you will be fine.” Nowadays, that guidance is, “Reboot your computer at least every 3 days, if not daily.” Microsoft Windows is being updated weekly, as are the major office productivity apps like Office and Acrobat, and not all of their updates are well tested – resulting in more crashing and rebooting until someone notices and issues yet another update to fix the previous update. If it feels excessive, it’s because it is excessive, but for the moment, we don’t have much choice. Right now, cybercrime has the edge, and it’s running everyone ragged.
