The Internet is like a virtual city. I live in Amarillo Texas, and here I can shop, bank, get an education, socialize with friends and strangers, possibly find my soul mate as well as many other things. I can also do all the same on the Internet. The big difference is that in Amarillo I can call 911 in the case I encounter trouble. If I encounter trouble on the Internet, well there is no 911 to call.
Think about it, who would build a city where you can shop, bank, get an education, socialize with friends and strangers, possibly find a soul mate and not build a police department? The Internet is a virtual city, but one without a police department. In fact on the Internet the only protection I have is what I provide.
Sure I can go get a firewall, anti-viral protection, Intrusion detection protection (IDS), etc.
But am I really protected?
No! The only sure way to protect you is to educate yourself. Period! With things like zero-day viruses and vulnerabilities, where viruses and vulnerabilities are not known to the security sector of the Internet there is no protections. Most users on the Internet wouldn’t know how to read IDS or firewall logs to even know if they are under attack, much less know how to defend against it.