“Bill Thompson, computing expert, explains how a basic programming mistake has led to Microsoft’s announcement of a ‘critical’ security flaw in its widely-used Windows operating system. Microsoft programmers made a mistake in the part of the operating system code that allows programs to talk to each other,” The Times Online reports. “This would allow a hacker to send incorrect information to a program and cause it to crash – leaving that computer open to the outside world.”
“When a system crashes it doesn’t stop working, it runs a different program instead – which the hacker can specify and could allow them to take control of the computer. Microsoft is not the only company which writes bad code, but it is a target for hackers because it dominates the market. So it does have a duty to be better than everybody else and it is failing in that duty,” The Times Online reports. “This error is a stupid fault. Whoever wrote that piece of software should be mortified. It’s a pathetic little mistake.”
“This bug was identified six months ago. In the last year Microsoft said that it would focus much more on security. Given that this code was written before then, it can be given the benefit of the doubt. But it is quite clear that buried in the existing code are lots of problems,” The Times Online reports. “Mac OS and Linux are written in such a way that any faults don’t have such widespread effects. They have a proper security architecture built in, limiting access. Windows didn
This rules!
And people still continues to buy software from Microsoft.
I can’t understand that. No matter what Microsoft does.. People will still buy software from Microsoft. I don’t understand that.
Boys “Lawyers” – Time to fill for a big lawsuit against M$ – Their main OS sucks and the world knows it does.
Windows users, you are being treated as “douchbags” by M$.
Time to stand up for yourself and change things with you hands, unless you are happy to be tricked over and over.
P.S. Tricked can be replaced by the word F….
people sue apple for batteries that die over time (just like any other battery in the history of mankind) while people continue to buy microsoft products that compromises security because of their programming….
i don’t get it…..
batteries that die over time is a fact of life…. viruses and security holes is something that could have been prevented….
Don’t know why a person would continue with Windows. But I also don’t know why SOMEONE doesn’t try to write a virus that would infect a Mac. Come on people, give it a try! Let’s put the obscurity through obscurity story to rest once and for all. How ’bout one of you Apple guys who work at Microsoft?
Slowly and surely people are seeing the light.
Maybe, just maybe, Apple should license its OS to HP.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> (Don’t flame me too hard.)
Simple aintdave, I have a nice office full of paid for wintel machines, a firewall, free virus protection that works great, and MS keeps pumping out those security updates when their code gets a wrinkle. The ten grand or so it would take to replace this hardware with Apple does not seem like a good deal to me. Hell ten grand would only get me started, with all those VPC’s I would need.
Hey RV, blow it out your rear. You DO understand that sort of language don’t you?
aintdave wrote, “But I also don’t know why SOMEONE doesn’t try to write a virus that would infect a Mac. Come on people, give it a try! Let’s put the obscurity through obscurity story to rest once and for all. How ’bout one of you Apple guys who work at Microsoft?”
For all we know Microsoft may have tried to write a virus to infect a Mac. But, given their ability to write code they probably failed.
Good for you Joe McConnel,
Unlike those who�ve expressed anger over iPod’s battery, you seem quite happy with your wintel configuration despite the serious flaws M$ has admitted.
I have been updating my W2K (business laptop) for the last couple of hours. I must say that even the update system M$ offers sucks. One update finished before another and requests you to reboot your machine while another update is still in progress. What a primitive coding and what a bad design this OS suffers.
YEs, boeing, if you get behind with updates, its a can of worms. ER, a BIGGER can of worms. We just do them when the auto update alert says to.
That’s not the only mention in the UK press today. There’s also this in The Independent:
http://news.independent.co.uk/digital/features/story.jsp?story=489935
Which includes the following: Now, I am certain that I’ve never sent any viruses, because I’m using Mac OSX, and there are no viruses on that platform.
“Mac and Linux were always multi-user systems”…
This is incorrect! The Mac was not always a multi-user system. He probably meant OS X.
… and this gem
{i]Windows struggles to protect you (and it) from yourself (and itself)
Thank you Charles Arthur !
You do test the security updates first, right Joe? Or maybe not, I don’t know. All I can say is it’s not nearly as easy as you make it sound which makes me doubt you admin an “office full” of Wintel machines, it sounds more like you’re only dealing with 4 or 5 to me. Meanwhile, try it when you have a *real* “office full” of machines (250+) like we do at my employer.
First of all, everytime one of these security updates come along, we have to do sometimes several days of testing in order to assure that they aren’t going to break any of our mission critical apps, because the problem is they often do. After all of the time and money is spent testing them, and tweaking the other apps they break or otherwise affect, we then have to actually apply the patches to each individual system which takes another few days. After that, there are always a handful of individual PCs that have some sort of issue because of the patch and those that simply have to be completely re-imaged because they’re totally hosed. It costs my company several thousand dollars in paid employee time just to apply a couple of these patches and seeing as how they come along seemingly once a month or so, this becomes a very expensive and time consuming proposition.
Bottom line is, out in the real world, it’s not nearly so simple as you make it seem to keep Windows based systems from imploding your entire business. I personally have nothing to do with how the IT dollars are spent here so I don’t have a personal stake in it since it’s not my money going down the drain, but if I did I can assure you I wouldn’t continue doing things the Microsoft way. It’s anything but cheap and easy…
Good point Scott, there are only 4 here, all doing the same thing.
An ie 6 update once corrupted the browser, and was a bitch to uninstall. We have not had any problems with the security updates. Sorry you can’t say the same.
Joe, you should be proud that you are so up-to-date with your firewall, virus protection, and security updates. But you are in the minority. The reason why these problems grab the headlines, is because the average person (the “average joe” if you will) is uneducated about virus updates, spyware, patches, and all the other crap that has to be done to keep your PC relatively save. I, too, can get on this forum and brag that I never have never been bothered by a virus on my XP machine, but what does that prove? The average person who buys a PC so they can email relatives or purchase pots and pans off of QVC doesn’t know about security updates, or how viruses can be activated by opening email attactments. (Ever hear of identity theft?) The majority of the 95% – 98% of Windows users are not “educated users”
And even the educated users must be idiotic too. With whole state agency offices, corporate offices, colleges, bank teller systems, going down because of all these Windows flaws – somebody must be screwing up. Maybe with your free virus protection and firewall you should be an IT consultant for all the other companies who have been effected by those Microsoft “wrinkles”. Hell, these wrinkles have cost companies billions of dollars. Think what you can charge for preventative maintenance.
Microsoft came out with a quick, easy, cheap operating system that they sold to the masses so they could wipe out competition and make ungodly amounts of money. And they will continue to prey upon consumers as long as we let them. They don’t give a rat’s ass about anything except for being number one.
Joe, you must be running a tiny business isn�t� In our corporate business we cannot afford to spend a lot of time downloading whatever M$ asks us to install. Also, there are company policies, does yours have one?
On the other hand, if you were well informed you wouldn’t be downloading and trusting everything M$ put on their Windows Update. – M$ has been dragged by governments to tribunals for those very same useless patches which control your machine and makes it a property of M$. Their patches lead your net navigation to wherever they want and restrict you from doing things on your own or as you please.
Think twice before you update those machines of yours…. I meant those machines you leased from M$
Peace.
I get it boeing. It is sort of a miracle the world works at all. Peace to you.
How many people buy the lottery when they know that, chances are, they won’t win?
How many people buy stock in a company that just announced great news?
How many people don’t read the small print — OK, any print — before signing some document?
How many people get suckered by the subliminal suggestions in infomercials?
How many people bother or try to understand why something is on sale?
How many people pray, for chrissakes? Or read horoscopes? Or believe FoxNews?
The answer is… as many as those who buy Windows.
And they get what they deserve. And they feel good about it.
‘Cause they’re human.
JadisOne: Maybe, just maybe, Apple should license its OS to HP.
Why bother redesigning a box. Rebrand the PowerMac G5 and Xserve, PowerHP G5 and Hserve.
Thanks, MDN, for not going postal over the near-obscurity myth.
“Microsoft … is a target for hackers because it dominates the market.” While there are also other reasons for hackers to target Microsoft, this is definitely one of them. Here are the reasons, in order of attraction factor:
1. Microsoft is evil.
2. I spent $400 on this OS, and all I got was this lousy blue screen.
3. I’ve never written a virus before. Maybe I should start out on the bunny OS.
4. No love, no respect, no sex…but at least I can be famous by attacking the most popular OS in the world.
5. Writting a virus is like tapping on the glass at the monkey-boy exhibit. It’s just good entertainment.
6. I show doze rousy ‘mericans someting!
As you can see, while Window’s popularity isn’t the biggest draw, neither is it the weakest. Perhaps rather than ranting at any journalist (or whatever you want to call them) who mentions Window’s popularity in the same sentence with security, we should instead encourage them to mention the other reasons too.
OK, Joe Mc, from your posts we figure you are in IT of some sort, network admin or something. My question to you is, what is your reason for being here? Are you a Mac user at all, or are you considering a move to our platform? I’m not making trouble, but would like to understand if you use Mac at all. The reason I ask is, if you don’t have any Mac ties, why come to a Mac forum?
I can see that as an IT person, you are at least partially forced to use Windows, but do you really *LIKE* windows? If you had your druthers, would you be using Mac?
IT folks like Windows in a way because it keeps them in business, or it keeps them with a staff. But they can’t really like all the problems that Windows causes.
So how about a brief explanation as to what you prefer and what your Mac interest is?
Joe McConnel. As many people have said above, you have to take into account the total cost of ownership when you run a business. With all the viruses and security holes for M$ windows, it is becoming more and more obvious that for many(most, all?) businesses Windoze is NOT the most economical choice, even if initial the cost of the machine may be a little less. It is people making the lazy choice and just looking at price tags that has resulted in the prevalence of windoze.
(and we all know you really wish you were on a mac, Joe. Denial, its not just a river in Egypt. I feel for you bud.)
Joe rather than bitching that it will cost you $10,000 to upgrade to Mac, just come out and admit you made the wrong decision buying that useless PC junk in the first place.
You’re obviously jealous of the rest of us or you wouldn’t stick around