TCP/MS, We'll Cure What Ails You

Cringely can string some words together from time to time, and this week's installment is a pretty good one. He's been reading a little too much Gibson (raw sockets have nothing to do with the spread of MSTD ^[?] 's), but overall, he's probably right. When the time is ripe, I think we'll see a move exactly like this.

Comments

The Solution Is Clear (well, maybe)

[namespan]

Someone needs to write some viruses that do the following things:

1) educates -- infects your computer and gives you
a multimedia presentation on flaws within "Hi! I'm Victor Virus!
I'm an Outlook Virus. How did I get in your machine?"

2) secures -- "Would you like me to install a Zone Management
package?"

3) explains alternatives -- "Did you know there are other alternatives
to Microsoft?"

4) Highlights Microsoft abuses...

How DID they do that?

[Compulawyer]

Cringely makes a very astute observation: How did MS manage to avoid having all those VBS viruses tagged as MS Windows viruses or MS Outlook viruses instead of "email" viruses?

Re:How DID they do that?

[IronChef]

It's simple. 95% of the computer-using public doesn't know that there is anything besides Microsoft out there. I have had people tell me crazy things like "of course Macs run Windows."

So, naturally they'll call this an "email virus" or "computer virus" instead of "a shoddy security flaw particular to one operating system." The level of analysis in the latter description is far, far over the head of most computer users. And MS doesn't have any competition to make security a big deal in their OS advertisements.

(I love Apple, but we Apple users just don't count. There are not enough of us. Like it or not, we are the lunatic fringe. Long live the fringe though!)

To most folks, Microsoft is a benevolent, Barney- like giant without which there wouldn't be computers at all. "How can you blame such a wonderful company for what some misceant hackers do? It certainly isn't Microsoft's fault that computers have these fundamental flaws, or that there are people that exploit them. Ooh! Someone emailed me a magic elf animation!"

Like ex-Pres Clinton, Microsoft has a teflon coating. Fascinating, and disturbing.

Hi, I've lived under a rock for a while

[Dancin_Santa]

We could implement a secure user identity system precisely like telephone Caller ID. It would be essentially an Internet ID. All Internet transactions could be based on it. Anyone who sends me e-mail can be identified. Anything I send can be traced to me. People wouldn't be forced to participate, but if they remain anonymous, I might choose to block them. I certainly wouldn't accept file attachments from them.

You can already do this. You can trace email. You can block email from those you don't know. And this system won't work to block email worms because usually they come from people who you know.

Get with it, man!

Dancin Santa

Already been done...

[ckm]

We already have a replacement for IP that does many of these things. It's already supported under Linux, and probably a couple of other OSs I don't know about.

It's called IPv6, and it has QOS, guarenteed delivery, traceablity, and a whole host of other goodies. C'mon, do you really thing Cisco would let MS take away their bread and butter? IPv6 has been in the works for years and was designed specifically to solve all of the issues he mentions. I guess he thinks that only MS is smart enough to develop a new protocol...

This whole article is a red herring, and Cringley's about a technically literate as a door knob.