Groups Push FTC to Act on MS XP, Passport

BuckMulligan writes: "EPIC and a coalition of consumer and privacy groups have renewed their calls for FTC action to protect consumers from the privacy risks associated with Windows XP and Passport. In a letter sent to the FTC, the groups criticized the FTC for not upholding its statutory duty to protect consumers in light of the planned release of Windows XP. More information on the groups' previous FTC complaints is stored on the EPIC Microsoft Passport Page." So who here thinks the FTC is going to block Windows XP? Me neither. The other remedies requested (toward the middle of the letter) are interesting, though.

Comments

Who cares?

[jiheison]

Let MicroSoft AND XP/Passport users learn the hard way. No one with any common sense would register sensitive data with Passport, and those that do are due for a valuable lesson.

Worst case scenario: this gets cracked big time, and suddenly everyone is hip to M$'s lack of attention to security.

Re:Who cares?

[Bouncings]

No, worst case scenario: it gets cracked big time and there are millions of cases of identity fraud, overwhelming the nation's law enforcement, crashing the economy, and leaving many consumers in the rough.

Buyer-be-ware only goes so far.

Too Little, Too Late, Too much Money..

[jspectre]

Does anyone honestly think the government is going to raise a finger against Micro$oft any longer? Once Bill got around to learning how Washington works and spreading his money around he wound up with more than a few politicians in his pocket. Look at what happend with the anti-trust case.

The FTC hasn't had the best track record in protecting consumer's rights these days anyway. Big businesses spend big bucks to have their way. Even if some sort of "investigation" is launched you can be sure M$ will be let go with a "stern warning" at best and a "no harm done" at worst.

Anyone using XP and signing up for Passport will get what they deserve, lots of spam, ruined financial records, fradulent charges (from script kiddies hacking into .Net), and Bill's love. Unfortunately this will be millions of people who don't know any better.

Re:Screw passport. Bitch about java.

[s3ndk3yz]

Java sucks. I'm glad somebody is trying to destroy it. Unfortunatly, MS is too little too late and people have wasted too much money and time with it to move to anything else now. "Java hype is built on the promulgation of two Big Lies. No. 1: Java is as fast, or faster, than other programming languages. And No. 2: Java is "portable" -- it is "write-once, run-everywhere" -- in other words, a Java program can be written once and then run on any kind of computer or operating system. But five years after Java's introduction, it is still slow and cumbersome, and not only has the "write-once, run-everywhere" promise not been delivered on, it's also turned out to not even be necessary. " - A guy that doesn't like Java.