Endpoint or computer? A call for plain speaking

I admit it. I’ve had it up to here with the word “endpoint”.

It’s beloved by the marketing departments from Cupertino to Abingdon and back all the way to Santa Clara, but I don’t believe that any of you are actually using it in ordinary English. And that’s why I’m going to do my damnedest to ban it from the Clu-blog.

And I’m not saying that this blog hasn’t occasionally been guilty of throwing the odd ridiculous word into conversation. A quick look through the archives show that I’ve not been adverse to throwing the likes of mundungus and anti-flappertanknibble into conversation in the past.

But I believe that computer security is complex enough without us confusing users by embracing words like “endpoint” rather than the somewhat more simple alternative, “computer”.

So, to help everyone understand why…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, or drop him an email.