Dancing pigs

In computer security, dancing pigs or the dancing pigs problem refers to a statement on user attitudes to computer security: that users primarily desire features without considering security, and so security must be designed in without the computer having to ask a technically ignorant user [http://www.mozilla.org/projects/security/components/reviewguide.html].

The quote is commonly attributed to either Edward Felten or Bruce Schneier. Felten said in Securing Java programming language (1999), chapter one, part seven [http://www.securingjava.com/chapter-one/chapter-one-7.html]:

:Given a choice between dancing pigs and security, users will pick dancing pigs every time.

A longer version of the quote was given by Schneier in his book Secrets and Lies (2000), p262:

:If J. Random Websurfer clicks on a button that promises dancing pigs on his computer monitor, and instead gets a hortatory message describing the potential dangers of the applet — he s going to choose dancing pigs over computer security any day. If the computer prompts him with a warning screen like: The applet DANCING PIGS could contain malicious code that might do permanent damage to your computer, steal your life s savings, and impair your ability to have children, he ll click OK without even reading it. Thirty seconds later he won t even remember that the warning screen even existed.

Also Known As: The Dancing Bunnies Problem .

=References=

*Gary McGraw and Edward Felten: [http://www.securingjava.com/ Securing Java] (John Wiley & Sons, 1999; ISBN 047131952X) *Bruce Schneier: Secrets and Lies (John Wiley & Sons, 2000; ISBN 0471453803)

=External links=

*[http://blogs.msdn.com/larryosterman/archive/2005/07/12/438284.aspx Larry Osterman s WebLog : Beware of the dancing bunnies.] *[http://research.microsoft.com/honeymonkey/ HoneyMonkey Project]