Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microsoft vs. Computer Security

Posted by Zonk on from the looking-for-the-right-tactic dept.

ArieKremen writes "The Slate has a piece written for the average user attempting to explain why Windows is `still` grappling with security issues. Although Gates made security and privacy top priority four years ago, not much progress has been made." From the article: "Microsoft customers haven't stopped worrying. A year later, Windows was hit with several nasty worms, including Slammer, Sobig, and Blaster. The viruses caused major traffic bottlenecks throughout the world, which cost tens of billions of dollars to clean up. Vulnerabilities deemed 'critical' have forced the company to release an almost unending stream of patches and fixes to the Windows operating system, Microsoft Office, and Internet Explorer." An interesting look at the whole issue.

2 of 439 comments (clear)

  1. Re:It's no secret... by shanen · · Score: 0, Troll
    That's not the point, though he didn't say it very clearly. The way I see the problem is sort of philosophical. Microsoft sees the OS as a weapon, and the philosophy of building weapons is that of course you want to make them as big and powerful as possible. Metaphorically, Windows has become something like a swiss army trench mortar that little old ladies drive to church on Sundays, a bit of email, and occasionally use for killing flies. Accidents will happen. Lots of those spam-zombies are 'owned' by such grannies. Power gets abused, and Windows is abosolutely way too powerful.

    Having identified the problem, I wish I had a good solution. The philosophy of the minimal OS is superior, but it doesn't make money.

    By the way, if you're looking for 'the truth' on /., you'll need a pretty big lantern to see past the fog of moderation. Yes, I just got troll modded again. If I was a gamester, I'd be interested in the gaming strategies the trolls use to get mod points. After all, Taco admitted the moderation system is a game.

    Do I have an axe to grind? Yeah, it's called 'the truth'. If every liar on /. would designate me as a foe, I'd be delighted--and have a really large freak list, too.

    --
    Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
  2. MOD PARENT UP by 808140 · · Score: 0, Troll

    It must be Murphy's law of mod points at work again: "As soon as your modpoints expire, you will find something worth modding up."

    AC's formatting sucks but he doesn't deserve to stick around at 0. AC, get an account, please, this sort of contribution shouldn't be anonymous.

    Although, for the record, it's spelled 'kernel'.