Why Can't Microsoft Just Patch Everything?

paneraboy writes "If smaller software companies can patch all of their bugs serious or minor, ZDNet's George Ou asks, why can't Microsoft -- with its massive army of programmers and massive budget -- patch all of its vulnerabilities? Had Microsoft fixed a low risk browser vulnerability six months ago, perhaps we could have avoided last week's zero-day exploit. Currently, more than two dozen Windows XP issues remain unpatched. Ou thinks Microsoft ought to fix them all." From the article: "Almost 4 years after the launch of Trustworthy Computing, I found myself wondering why am I staying up till 4:00 AM to deliver an emergency set of instructions (Home and Enterprise) to my readers because Microsoft felt it unnecessary to patch a flaw six months ago that was originally low risk but mutated in to something extremely dangerous."

Comments

Doesn't he know?

[AEton]

Issuing patches is dangerous.

Every time Microsoft patches its software, hackers use their patches to discover security holes and to issue exploits!

But when they don't patch their software, no bad guys notice these vulnerabilities. In fact, no virus or worm has *ever* exploited a vulnerability before a critical update was released!

Duh.

Obligatory tinfoil hat

[Bombula]

From some Bond movie (Tomorrow Never Dies?):

"What's the status of our new software?"

"Ready for launch Mr Carver, and - as requested - it's full of bugs, so people will be forced to upgrade for years."

"Delicious."

/not serious... no, seriously.

Michael, Row the OS Ashore

[dexter riley]

Attention all hands! Abandon metaphor! ABANDON METAPHOR!!!

Though I must admit, it gives new meaning to "software piracy". Ahrrrrrrrr.

Re:I ask the same question

[MouseR]

No, OSS is not free of bugs

But their bugs are free.

Re:Seems like some people don't understand coding

[mmjb]

Of course, if the base design philosophy is flawed to begin with, even if they could "patch everything" the would likely be better off rewriting from the ground up.

Outstanding idea!

1. Base it on tried and tested code. Maybe supply the source code for the world's programming talent to see if there is anything wrong with it. Also encourage help with new projects.

2. Give it a snappy name - words ending in an "x" always sound cool.

3. Oh - and it would need a logo - maybe from the animal kingdom?

4. ...

5. Profit! (Oh - wait...)

Re:Seems like some people don't understand coding

[js3]

preach on brother!

that OP question is a dumb as "why can't the US kill all the terrorists? with their large army and all their technology?". We'll put in the same bin as "why can't you marry britney spears" and "why can't you quit your job and become a scuba diver"