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FBI, Pentagon Talk to MS about XP Hole

Posted by timothy on from the step-inside-the-circle-of-trust dept.

(eternal_software) writes: "The Associated Press is reporting that the FBI and Defense Department are talking to Microsoft about the serious flaws found in the XP operating system. As we all know, the most recent flaw allowed any XP machine to be hijacked simply by connecting it to the internet. The government is getting involved because of growing U.S. concerns about risks to the 'net as a whole." In fact, the FBI would like you to go a bit beyond the MS patch. davecl points out the updated page put out by the National Infrastructure Protection Center about this vulnerability as well.

3 of 405 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Follow the EEC Lead. by dbarclay10 · · Score: 2, Troll

    I won't comment on the "usability" of the desktops other than to say that almost all desktops under *nix that I've used(KDE, GNOME, plain 'ol Sawfish or IceWM) are extraordinarily easy to use. They're hard to learn(well, maybe not KDE and to a lesser extent GNOME), but they're absolutely amazing to use.

    Be sure to seperate "ease of use" from "ease of learning" :) Windows is easy for almost everyone to learn, because almost everyone has had exposure. But it's a bitch to use.

    I *will*, however, comment about installations. You're on drugs. It's that simple :) Mandrake is *easier* to install than Windows. Go ahead and try it. The installation is smoother, all hardware is autodetected, everything is just EASY. Windows installation isn't nearly so nice. I'm not saying it's their fault - after all, Windows is almost always preinstalled. They really havn't had much motivation to make a really kickass installer.

    --

    Barclay family motto:
    Aut agere aut mori.
    (Either action or death.)
  2. Re:OK, M$ is getting stupider by WildBeast · · Score: 1, Troll

    oh, is this the recipe for success? Maybe I should start a software company now and go with your M$ plan. I'll be sure to succeed.

    when did MS say they're not at fault? They published the patch and thanked the guy who found the exploit.

    piss-poor quality? Yeah, I guess that's why Windows is used on more than 90% of desktops and that MS Office is so popular.

    If you had any notions in marketing you would know that you can't get your customers money without first caring about your customers. that's what MS does, they added features that their customers ask for.

    Grow up will ya.

  3. Can't get through? Different patch mirror sites... by wrinkledshirt · · Score: 0, Troll

    Mirror Site #1

    Mirror Site #2

    Mirror Site #3

    Mirror Site #4

    Mirror Site #5

    Homer Simpson laughing and saying, "It's funny 'cuz it's true!"

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    Bleah! Heh heh heh... BLEAH BLEAH!!! Ha ha ha ha...