I finally understood Commodore256′s point, was that noobs surfing the web can get to a page that claims they have viruses on their machine. I’ve seen these too, and usually the bogus requester that tells them this uses a recognizeable Windows frame to make it seem valid. However on Ubuntu, there is no single recognizeable window context theme, so it is hard to phish a Ubuntu user because the Phish would have to know what window manager and theme the Ubuntu user is using. Windows could avoid this problem as well by permitting Windows to have many kinds of window managers and themes.. Also since Ubuntu released every 6 months, there is a chance that every release will have a different “look”. So phishing would not be effective across all Ubuntu users. It’s because of Windows inability to be completely customized that Windows users are vulnerable to web-Phish.. I bet you never thought tha theming and customization could protect you from viruses 
@ThingsontheWeb I was due to go somewhere and wasn’t thinking, I just blurted that out.. I know, I have my own relatives who I’d like to convert to Linux, but seems like they are converting to the mac, which is almost a relief, though I can’t stand Apple’s walled garden approach to keeping its users dependent on them (only apple hardware works with apple software, only stuff you download from iTunes works on apple hardware, when you get an iPhone you have to get a AT&T contract, etc..)
@commodore256 Wow!
@ThingsontheWeb Well you could maybe refer them to that guy who won the lottery and his daughter became a heroine addict, because he kept giving her money, and lost all her friends. Also they will rest better knowing that every program in their computer has the potential to perform malicious acts at any time and there isn’t a virus killer that can stop such programs. There is a huge one, it is called Microsoft Windows, and a lot of us has it, and can’t really get it off our machines.
@sorrow413 Me too. I have a learning disability called audio perceptual difficulty, it means several things like:
1. when two people are talking I can’t understand either.
2. I sound out words in my head when I read.
Consequently I have others like I jumble words when I speak, or I’ll use a word opposite in place of what I mean to say. I mad c’s in english until I took technical writing in college. And it took me 10 years to get a bachelors in college, but I got an 3D animation award, mid-way.
@sorrow413 Me too. I have a learning disability called audio perceptual difficulty, it means several things like:
1. when two people are talking I can’t understand either.
2. I sound out words in my head when I read.
Consequently I have others like I jumble words when I speak, or I’ll use a word opposite in place of what I mean to say. I mad c’s in english until I took technical writing in college. And it took me 10 years to get a bachelors in college, but I got an 3D animation award, mid-way.
@kiernanholland I can’t restrict them, cause it’s harder on my end.
It was a scam like this that made me a Linux user in the first place.
I installed Antivirus 2008 and googled “free programs” because I didn’t know what kind of program windows was and I searched for windows and I was like “so, Windows is an ‘Operating System’ I wonder if there is any free Operating Systems that I can install”.
Here’s the funniest part I found out that Antivirus 2008 was made by a Russian company called “Bakasoftware” and “Baka” is not Russian, it’s Japanese and it means idiot.
@ThingsontheWeb
Well all you do is make it so that they can’t do anything else but use the web browser and email. Put them in a user account without super user priviledges. If they are so dumb.. And when they complain, install new software for them. Or you could give them a distribution of Ubuntu with everything needed like Mint. Or get them to buy a macintosh.
Nice video, good points … I’m the tech in my entire family. And the #1 issue I have with them is that they believe that the site is telling them they have a virus, or worse, they just won the lottery. I’m not saying that most people are stupid, but I’m saying most people who surf the web are stupid. lol . I wish I could convert them all to Linux, to cut down the tech calls to me, but trying to teach a computer idiot a new OS is more painful.
Good counter-point on the OS phishing trick!
But, most computer users don’t change their theme. I was gonna say “The bad guys will just make the Popup Window using the Human Theme and hope for the best”, but the reason why windows users don’t change their theme is because they don’t see the option in windows to make the window borders and taskbar pink or whatever.
I have thought of theming as protecting you from viruses, but I forgot about it.
I got one of those messages using a mac theme.