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WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently
Precisely nineteen months ago, Bill Gates sent out a
memo
to employees (and the press) announcing that security was Microsoft's
number-one priority.
Today, about a hundred readers have submitted the
news that Microsoft.com
went down last night.
And now, the company has
"extinguished" WindowsUpdate.com
(future updates will come from a
different domain).
All this because of some Microsoft worm that triggers at midnight. Related news:
Windows Update
says you're protected, but maybe you're not;
WU.com
briefly ran Linux, heh;
worm variant with clever "anatomical term."
Gates to workers: "We must do better"
.NET strategy. Before that, it was several memos about the importance of the Internet to our future and the ways we could make the Internet truly useful for people. Over the last year it has become clear that ensuring .NET is a platform for Trustworthy Computing is more important than any other part of our work. If we don't do this, people simply won't be willing--or able--to take advantage of all the other great work we do. Trustworthy Computing is the highest priority for all the work we are doing. We must lead the industry to a whole new level of Trustworthiness in computing.
.NET more than two years ago, we set a new direction for the company--and articulated a new way to think about our software. Rather than developing standalone applications and Web sites, today we're moving towards smart clients with rich user interfaces interacting with Web services. We're driving the XML Web services standards so that systems from all vendors can share information, while working to make Windows the best client and server for this new era.
By ZDNet News Staff
Special to ZDNet
January 17, 2002, 12:00 AM PT
Forward in Format for
Editor's note: In this e-mail sent to employees Tuesday, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates says the company intends to shift from focusing on features to spotlighting security and privacy.
From: Bill Gates
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2002 2:22 PM
To: Microsoft and Subsidiaries: All FTE
Subject: Trustworthy computing
Every few years I have sent out a memo talking about the highest priority for Microsoft. Two years ago, it was the kickoff of our
When we started work on Microsoft
There is a lot of excitement about what this architecture makes possible. It allows the dreams about e-business that have been hyped over the last few years to become a reality. It enables people to collaborate in new ways, including how they read, communicate, share annotations, analyze information and meet.
However, even more important than any of these new capabilities is the fact that it is designed from the ground up to deliver Trustworthy Computing. What I mean by this is that customers will always be able to rely on these systems to be available and to secure their information. Trustworthy Computing is computing that is as available, reliable and secure as electricity, water services and telephony.
Today, in the developed world, we do not worry about electricity and water services being available. With telephony, we rely both on its availability and its security for conducting highly confidential business transactions without worrying that information about who we call or what we say will be compromised. Computing falls well short of this, ranging from the individual user who isn't willing to add a new application because it might destabilize their system, to a corporation that moves slowly to embrace e-business because today's platforms don't make the grade.
The events of last year--from September's terrorist attacks to a number of malicious and highly publicized computer viruses--reminded every one of us how important it is to ensure the integrity and security of our critical infrastructure, whether it's the airlines or computer systems.
Computing is already an important part of many people's lives. Within ten years, it will be an integral and indispensable part of almost everything we do. Microsoft and the computer industry will only succeed in that world if CIOs, consumers and everyone else sees that Microsoft has created a platform for Trustworthy Computing.
Every week there are reports of newly discovered security problems in all kinds of software, from individual applications and services to Windows, Linux, Unix and other platforms. We have done a great job of having teams work around the clock to deliver security fixes for any problems that arise. Our responsiveness has been unmatched - but as an industry leader we can and must do
...they publish the address of the new site and then someone else writes a virus that attacks that site. Instead of putting a band-aid on the problem why not just fix it? Just my opinion, SirLantos
The flying hamster of DOOM rains coconuts on your pitiful city.
The link in the main post doesn't work. This one does: Microsoft.com falls to DOS attack
Is to pull the plug.
(We already knew that...)