I'll give you a hint. It's not a failure in code, or sending out patches and updates as fast as hackers can invent new hacks. I actually give the major security vendors a lot of credit for jumping on threats as fast and as efficiently as they do.

The hole I'm talking about is communication. I'm not a former IT person turned journalist. But, I have been covering this industry off and on for two decades. I've produced instructional computer help shows for network television. I personallly spend a lot of time with technology and have self-taught myself many programs over the years. Compared to Joe Q. Public, I like to think of myself as, ahem, ahead of the curve.

And yet when it comes to navigating my security software, I am completely and utterly lost. I can't imagine what it's like for Joe Q.

Long overdue, here is my public plea to those software companies that sell security and maintenence applications.

1. Hire some real writers who speak human to overhaul every word written into your interface with the user. All that gobbeldy gook in the control menu is just that - gobbeldy gook. All the verbage in setting up the program, managing popup windows identifying a possible problem, etc. makes no sense! You are presuming us users are way more literate with your jargon than we actually are. What good is your software if the user can't understand it well enough to navigate through it and maximize it's use?

2. Classifying risks into small, medium and large tell me nothing. It's both vague and over generalized. Pop up windows warning me of a "medium risk" and asking me whether to block an attempt to contact my computer don't help me. What's a medium risk? That sounds like a dodge. If there's no real threat and the user ends up blocking out something that was really important, it's better safe than sorry. If the user does nothing and gets attacked, well there was sort of a warning. Medium = luke warm. I need to know: am I under attack or not? Should I block what's coming in or not. And the popup window of information provided doesn't offer me any valuable information to make an informed decision.

3. Make navigation through the program more user friendly. Once in awhile, a site that I'm trying to access gets blocked (no it wasn't porn!). I never can remember how to dig into the program and find the software blocking feature where I can unblock specific sites.

4. Give me some real context of incoming threats, threats thwarted and potential threats. What part of my computer is being threatened and how severe is the potential damage. How do I tell an intrusion attempt from a bot loooking for personal information for identiy theft versus my printer manufactorer wanting to update my software?

5. Yes, yes your programs are vital. Every comptuer in the word needs anti-virus protection, spyware and anti-spam filters. Yes, yes, we should all have a firewall. But tell me again what it's keeping out and not letting in? Sometimes, I can't even tell if its enabled or disabled. And when everything is enabled, my computer moves at glacial speeds. Coincidence, I think not.

My parting advice to the security software folks: As unfriendly as you are to cyber ne'er do wells, could you please be as friendly to your users.

Just something to think about security pros.