Slashdot Mirror

On one hand your comment is funny due to the chronic security risks associated with MS products.

On the other hand, MS has some of the best code analysis technology available in Prefast, FXCop, SAL, and Application Verifier:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/05/11/SDL /default.aspx

Disclaimer from the linked content:

"Security tools will not make your software secure. They will help, but tools alone do not make code resilient to attack. There is simply no replacement for having a knowledgeable work force that will use the tools to enforce policy."

No files to delete. You can either set the activeX control to not run or not run activeX.

I've seen a lot of comments sugest the WIndows is easier to target because it has a larger marketshare.

This is a BS argument. Here is one example of a program with larger marketshare but fewer cracks, both attempts and percentage successes:

Apache
IIS

Just because it's a bigger target doesn't mean it's a better target. Windows is a good target because it's big AND because it has a shit-ton of security flaws. You need to be a security expert to properly safeguard Windows, and most people don't have enough security expertise.

Weylin

Buy a Mac to run Safari and Firefox, then buy Parallels Desktop (or if you bought a used/close-out pre-Intel Mac, Virtual PC. Pick up a copy of Windows XP to run the modern versions of IE, and you're done. You wouldn't need XP Pro, you could get away with Home Edition, so it wouldn't be a huge outflow of cash.

A work-around is to have IE7 fib that it's IE6: User Agent String Utility version 2 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?Fa milyID=9517DB9C-3C0D-47FE-BD04-FAD82A9AAC9F&displa ylang=en I know this *should* have been a simple menu option in IE7 as it is with Opera.

I see the $ as referring not to capitalism but to Microsoft's heritage as a developer of BASIC language interpreters, from Altair BASIC through Applesoft BASIC, GW-BASIC, QBasic, and Visual Basic to VB.NET. Line numbered BASIC dialects used the $ sigil on string variables:

10 LET M$ = "Microsoft"
20 PRINT "Hello ";M$
30 END
produces
Hello Microsoft

In this way, saying M$ to refer to "random BASIC vendor" is no different from saying $PHB to refer to "random out-of-touch manager" (as described in Jargon File: Hacker Writing Style).

Using M$ in Slashdot comments' subject lines has another advantage: it abbreviates "Microsoft" to save seven bytes out of the 50 permitted in a subject, without inviting comparison to multiple sclerosis.

Add methods to a class, even if it's part of the standard library and I don't have the source code

Just for the record: Extension Methods as introduced with C# 3.0 allows you to do this. The Language Integrated Query (LINQ) Project relies heavily on this feature.

...but I just do not buy the rubbish that every Windows machine gets compromised in five minutes.

      I don't know why your post is considered Insightful. Because you said 5 minutes instead of 12 minutes? This from MSFT's web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/desktopdeployment /articles/080305tn.mspx
Techniques for Patching New Computers
Published: August 3, 2005
By Tony Northrup

I've Been Hacked Already?

A few years ago, I was doing systems engineering work for a technology firm when a UNIX systems administrator asked me to help him with a problem. He used a computer running the Microsoft Windows operating system and connected to the public Internet for testing, and that computer was behaving strangely. I took a quick look at it and immediately recognized the problem: The computer was infected with a worm.

"Okay. Now how do I get rid of it?" he asked.

"The computer doesn't belong to you anymore; it belongs to the bad guys now. You don't know what they might have done with it. Reformat it, re-install Windows, and get it patched."

He rebuilt it and came back to me in about an hour. His computer had become infected with the same worm while he was trying to install the security updates.

According to Sophos research published July 1, 2005, there's a 50 percent chance that an unpatched computer running the Windows operating system will be infected with a worm within 12 minutes of being connected to the Internet. That's bad news, because downloading and installing all the latest updates takes longer than 12 minutes. If you're deploying hundreds of computers, you really have no chance. So, how can you keep your new computers from being attacked before you can update them?

end quote

  rd

Windows XP SP1 and earlier are not being patched, even for security updates. XP SP2 or Vista are the only "safe" OSs.

Microsoft introduced driver signing in an attempt to fix the problem with unstable drivers. If you try to install an unsigned driver, XP bitches at you about it, but lets you continue anyway if you really want.

However, some companies intentionally defraud Microsoft's test lab.

You're right. Microsoft doesn't document API's. [rolls eyes]

Why is it that when apple does this kind of thing it's somehow "cool", but when Microsoft does it, it's somehow "evil"?

Because when Apple does it, it becomes a well documented, open API. Microsoft? Not so much.

I couldn't agree more. However, you might find F# interesting: http://research.microsoft.com/fsharp/fsharp.aspx

The behavior depends on a number of factors, and in many ways UAC is vastly superior to Mac OS in this regard. To dispel some myths and speculation that have been swirling here:

1) UAC dialogs can be automatically ignored or suppressed
2) UAC can be configured to require password, even with an administrator account
3) running as a limited user, UAC requires a passwords
4) applications can't snoop the password as its being entered (contrast with MacOS)

To highlight some areas that haven't been addressed:

-- UAC provides virtualization of registry hives to make older applications work well under the new system
-- UAC makes GREAT use of color to highlight potentially untrustoworth applications that have requested credentials
-- UAC behavior can be centrally managed through group policy

There's more too.

There's a ton of good information about it at Microsoft. See, for example, http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsVista/en/libr ary/00d04415-2b2f-422c-b70e-b18ff918c2811033.mspx? mfr=true

For the security-conscious among us, UAC will preovide a great deal of control unavailable on MacOS. For uncle Bob, it will save him from a lot of malware even if he runs as admin all the time.

The comparison in the article is superficial, at best.

The first limit is almost a non-issue. The FAT-32 filesystem supports up to 8 TB. Of course, Windows XP can't format a volume over 32 GB, but you can always create the volume in another way---in Windows 98, ME, or Vista; in Linux; or using a third-party formatting tool. Once you have created a larger volume, Windows (even XP) should be able to handle it just fine.

FAT Limitations

The MSDN End User License Agreement (EULA) allows each person with an MSDN license to use all of the software that is included in the subscription for development, test, and demonstration purposes only.

May I use MSDN Subscriptions software to install software for day-to-day (production) use?
No, but with one exception. [...] One exception is that the MSDN Premium subscription comes with one license to Desktop Applications (typically on blue discs) such as Microsoft Office Professional 2003, Visio Standard 2003, and Project Standard 2003 for business use directly related to the design, development, test, and/or demonstration of software projects. [...] In addition, one copy of Office Professional 2003 can be used for general business use, unrelated to development and testing.

The MSDN End User License Agreement (EULA) allows each person with an MSDN license to use all of the software that is included in the subscription for development, test, and demonstration purposes only.

May I use MSDN Subscriptions software to install software for day-to-day (production) use?
No, but with one exception. [...] One exception is that the MSDN Premium subscription comes with one license to Desktop Applications (typically on blue discs) such as Microsoft Office Professional 2003, Visio Standard 2003, and Project Standard 2003 for business use directly related to the design, development, test, and/or demonstration of software projects. [...] In addition, one copy of Office Professional 2003 can be used for general business use, unrelated to development and testing.

The MSDN End User License Agreement (EULA) allows each person with an MSDN license to use all of the software that is included in the subscription for development, test, and demonstration purposes only.

May I use MSDN Subscriptions software to install software for day-to-day (production) use?
No, but with one exception. [...] One exception is that the MSDN Premium subscription comes with one license to Desktop Applications (typically on blue discs) such as Microsoft Office Professional 2003, Visio Standard 2003, and Project Standard 2003 for business use directly related to the design, development, test, and/or demonstration of software projects. [...] In addition, one copy of Office Professional 2003 can be used for general business use, unrelated to development and testing.

Why? because it's brown or because it's expensive?

Foxpro is alive and kicking
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vfoxpro/
and equating it to Access is a joke (you don't do much DB work eh?)

I'm, not putting it on "Apple's Door" I am stating for the sake of Business on Macs that the business tools available for the Mac had been dwindling over time (regardless of Apple's involvement or due to its lack thereof)

VirtualPC is no loss at all now, since Boot Camp and Parallels are both much better at just about everything.

If you want to run Windows apps that is; and Boot Camp is excellent - if you don't want to run Mac OS.

So... given that your lists had 14 items and only 5 of them were Apple (and of those, only 4 are unique) how can Apple "catch up" with the other items?

Well by actually promiting business use on the Mac again would be a good start. (you remember those old MAc ads with the guy runnign circles around the DOS/Windows user with fancy charts quick turnaround and stuff... probably not)

Should they lobby the other companies for feature parity, or to port the missing apps? How can Apple force Microsoft to release new Mac products, for example, and is that a realistic thing to attempt?

How to remove data in Active Directory after an unsuccessful domain controller demotion.

I believe this will work if you have a DC die on you and you are not planning on recovering it.

http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/useterms/defa ult.aspx

An easy find with Google.

WTF? Windows 2k SP3 and later *does* support drives bigger than 137GB. If you're not installing from an SP4 CD, make one with slipstreaming.

I just mentioned that the 137GB patch exists the other day and got modded a Troll - this guy tells a blatant falsehood and gets Informative? What's with the Mods around here?

WTF? Windows 2k SP3 and later *does* support drives bigger than 137GB. If you're not installing from an SP4 CD, make one with slipstreaming.

I just mentioned that the 137GB patch exists the other day and got modded a Troll - this guy tells a blatant falsehood and gets Informative? What's with the Mods around here?

Although I use VMWare for Win2K, if you don't want to pay for VMWare Workstation, you can use MS's VirtualPC for free while supplies last.

All you have to do is seize the FSMO roles, not the end of the world
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/25550 4

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=914387

Can be manually fixed, or daylight savings change can be disabled.
There are tools out there that add reg entries for the lazy.

http://www.mdgx.com/files/KB928388.EXE

(warning- reboots computer without confirmation)

Wasn't it just announced that Microsoft would not be releasing a patch to anything less than XP for the new TimeZone changes that happen this spring?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928388

-Aaron

It supports larger drives just fine; I have a 750GB drive happily running on my Windows 2000 box. To fully use a hard drives that's >137GB, Windows 2000 requires service pack 3 or later and a registry hack. You didn't need the IE and other extra patches just to be able to use the other partition.

Windows XP requires service pack 1 and a registry hack. It's possible for OEMs to upgrade the copy of XP they ship to have this feature by default.

For people who just have to format the entire hard drive as one big partition, then this limitation in Windows 2000 can be annoying. Those of us who prefer to keep the OS drive on the small side, separating out data files onto a separate partition, are barely effected by it. I'm already going to install SP4 on any new Windows 2000 system anyway, so I just need to remember which registry key to tickle after that's done and this problem goes away.

It supports larger drives just fine; I have a 750GB drive happily running on my Windows 2000 box. To fully use a hard drives that's >137GB, Windows 2000 requires service pack 3 or later and a registry hack. You didn't need the IE and other extra patches just to be able to use the other partition.

Windows XP requires service pack 1 and a registry hack. It's possible for OEMs to upgrade the copy of XP they ship to have this feature by default.

For people who just have to format the entire hard drive as one big partition, then this limitation in Windows 2000 can be annoying. Those of us who prefer to keep the OS drive on the small side, separating out data files onto a separate partition, are barely effected by it. I'm already going to install SP4 on any new Windows 2000 system anyway, so I just need to remember which registry key to tickle after that's done and this problem goes away.

They'res also AutoPatcher for offline patch installation, and it includes add-ons (such as Sun Java 6, TweakUI and the .Net framework).
They'res also Microsoft's Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer which will scan your computer and notify you of missing security updates, and direct links to download them.

For Win2k, all you need to worry about is Service pack 4 and Update Rollup 1.

For Win2k, all you need to worry about is Service pack 4 and Update Rollup 1.

Windows 2k retired from mainstream support on 6/30/2005. It is currently under extended support until 7/13/2010.

So for the next 3 1/2 years you will continue to receive security and critical patches, and you will be able to pay for support if you need it. So there's nothing to panic about yet.

After 2010 though, if MS doesn't extended support, you may want to look in a new direction. Possibly an emulator for Linux to run what ever 2k app you need, or a replacement for those apps you are using. Worst case scenario, (2k support ends and numerous viruses are released for it) you can still run it, you just have to take into consideration the extra security concerns.

Here is the page for MS's support life cycle info: http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeselectindex

-Rick

Can I draw diagrams with RTF? Can I have a ToC? Can I do complex styling? Can I have a "galery" of styles? Can I include images? No. RTF is not a solution.

They have something sort of like that. If you are the first to responsibly disclose a bug, during the security bulletin, you or your organization will be thanked in the bulletin for disclosing it. I think there is some kind of rudimentary financial compensation. ($500 comes to mind?) also, but i can't find any record of it currently.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin /policy.mspx

If you search "microsoft.com" for "responsible disclosure", many of the recent security bulletins list who reported it to them properly.

It is patented and Microsoft have a free click-through license to agree to if you want to implement it. The license forbids development of office applications using the UI and also leaves you guessing as to whether it is compatible with the various open source licenses. Channel 9 video and licensing website:
http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=2595 48
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/office/aa973809.a spx

Does Windows 2000 understand the "Dynamic DST" sub-key? The manual method on the MS page just shows a standard DST entry.

I only had to chance it once (on Win98 if I remember correctly) and there it was just an regedit call. No reboot required. At this time Win98 was switching the DST about a month wrong in MET, and I had to correct that. There is also a Microsoft Utility called tzedit, which displays and modifies the time zone rules. To have it affect the displayed time, you can go in the Control Panel, choose Date & Time and hit Ok. Then it will refresh the timezone information according to the changes you made with the tzedit.exe utility.

A more complete description of the necessary registry changes is at
Microsoft Knowledgebase 914387.

But as someone already wrote in an earlier post: Set your servers to use NTP, either from your local nameservers or from *.pool.ntp.org and have it automatically adjust for DST.

I only had to chance it once (on Win98 if I remember correctly) and there it was just an regedit call. No reboot required. At this time Win98 was switching the DST about a month wrong in MET, and I had to correct that. There is also a Microsoft Utility called tzedit, which displays and modifies the time zone rules. To have it affect the displayed time, you can go in the Control Panel, choose Date & Time and hit Ok. Then it will refresh the timezone information according to the changes you made with the tzedit.exe utility.

A more complete description of the necessary registry changes is at
Microsoft Knowledgebase 914387.

But as someone already wrote in an earlier post: Set your servers to use NTP, either from your local nameservers or from *.pool.ntp.org and have it automatically adjust for DST.

These guys have set them up with a fucking NT domain!

but neither of us knows what to do with an NT domain -- but these techs have convinced them that it's somehow "more secure".

because I couldn't make the NT domain go across the VPN.

and it runs over a VPN because RDP doesn't do crypto.

Well it's kinda obvious from where I'm sitting: Sure, he's no roboticist, but robots run software and Bill-and-Co just launched Microsoft Robotics Studio a short time ago. There was even an article about it on that place, um, I think it was called Slashdot.

Because Billy's company just put out a robotics oriented development platform. This is market promotion - probably paid for by Microsoft - just not labeled as an advertisement. Here's the product page: http://msdn.microsoft.com/robotics/

Many people forget that they have to add codecs to WMP on Windows to get it to run videos encoded with alternate video codcs (DivX, XviD, etc.).

QuickTime for Mac OS X can be similarly augmented:

Simply download Flip4Mac (free) for WMV support and Perian (free) for support for just about everything else.

No need for VLC.

If you're a microsoft partner you can just sell another license through your partner advantage program and use your own cd's/media for install) (free to join program).

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/eva luation/privacy/mcevistaprivacy.mspx ...A list of revoked software can be sent to your computer whenever you download a new Program Guide...

MS provides a rather neat extension of the C# language: Spec#.

Spec# adds the method contracts and class invariants of Eiffel, the checked exceptions of Java, and introduces non-null types. But the thing that at least I find the most interesting, is the idea of static program verification.

As we install point-of-sale software, we've run into this. Per Microslop, the limit is for 10 incoming connections to shares.

I don't like 'em any more than you do, but I had to call fair.