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The Hidden Cost of Using Microsoft Software
Glyn Moody writes "Detractors of free software like to point out it's not really 'free,' and claim that its Total Cost of Ownership is often comparable with closed-source solutions if you take everything into account. And yet, despite their enthusiasm for including all the costs, they never include a very real extra that users of Microsoft's products frequently have to pay: the cost of cleaning up malware infections. For example, the UK city of Manchester has just paid out nearly $2.5 million to clean up the Conficker worm, most of which was 'a £1.2m [$2million] bill in the IT department, including £600,000 [$1 million] getting "consultancy support" to fix the problems, which including drafting in experts from Microsoft.' To make the comparisons fair, isn't it about time these often massive costs were included in TCO calculations?"
For example: The State of Vermont's Agency of Human Services just went through a similar exercise and I'm sure it cost them a fortune. The state is suffering financially as it is and yet, we haven't heard a WORD (there really isn't any investigative news in VT) about the outcome or how much it is costing
"Oh my god, not this AGAIN!!"
Error reading device 'Signature'. (A)bort, (R)etry, (F)ail?
You might have a point.... except that Apache is far more popular than IIS and yet IIS is the one routinely attacked.
MS can't include these into calculations for obvious reasons. They must proceed as if such vulnerabilities don't exist in order to market their product. What's funny is they don't want you to either. They want to hold themselves up as either "just as good as" the next guy or make excuses for their lack of security.
In the long run this is a cost that need not be spent. There are alternative OS's and it's high time governments, of all entities, started using open alternatives. It's not just costing them in terms of being beholding to corporations like MS but in real dollars as well.
The question is not "Is Linux inherently as cheap as Microsoft". No. The question is, if we include all costs, including virus and other malware related costs, will Microsoft cost more than Linux.
Just as Microsoft is correct that when considering the real cost of 'free software', you have to include costs such as training, you ALSO have to consider the costs incurred due to malware.
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
The change of the user interface in Office 2007 is one huge hidden cost. It was done to make things "easier" with the result that old users instead have to re-learn the user interface completely and have a really hard time to do even the things that were simple before.
And some things that was easy in the old Office version is now really cumbersome. The style handling in Word is one example that can make the blood pressure rise.
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
Flame War; Didn't Read
But seriously, 2 MILLION to clean up some viruses? I need to move to Manchester and become a consultant!
No comprende? Let me type that a little slower for you...
Yes, your complaint would apply if the entire world was considering switching from Microsoft to Linux. But when I advise my boss about the comparitive costs of using MS or of Linux, I would be foolish to refuse to include costs related to viruses simply because if in a mythical world where people used Linux more than MS then in that mysthical world the virus cost would be lower for Microsoft.
As a busineman, I must live in the real world and base my costs on reality, not your dream world. In reality, currently, Linux has lower virus related costs and I there MUST include the cost to deal with such problems when calculating the lifetime cost of software.
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
You might have a point.... except that Apache is far more popular than IIS and yet IIS is the one routinely attacked.
Citation needed? ;)
Seriously, some data would be nice.
I am not following your argument, since windows has a higher market share than FOSS solutions it is exempt from malware removal costs? I think the point of the article is that while CSS vendors tout that FOSS solutions are not 'free' in terms of TCO, they neglect this cost that affects them more heavily than the completion.
I don't think the reason behind them having the higher cost (higher market share) is relevant. It is a cost, and they have a disproportionately large percent of it, admittedly for a quite valid reason.
Probably because when the web server is IIS it's always the same operating system platform behind, which in turn means that as soon as a breakthrough occurs it's often easy to continue with the penetration.
On an Apache web server you can't tell what kind of platform it runs on, which means that an attack that works on one server may be completely useless on another.
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
Maybe the world still runs on Microsoft because the TCO difference just isn't high enough to justify the cost of switching. The cost of migration has to be figured into the TCO of the alternative, despite how unfair it sounds to do so.
Really? You are allowing an infected machine to remain on the network with only a free firewall protecting the rest of your corporate network? Pulling a stunt like that would probably get me fired. It's not a matter of how technically sound the solution seems to be - it's a very high ongoing risk factor to the stability of the rest of the network.
Just because I can hook a shark from a boat, I do no offer to wrestle it in the water.
Maybe it's a strength that Linux is used less. That results in a lower cost of ownership overall for organizations "right now". In the far future, this could change obviously, but nothing suggests that this cost will be larger than that of Microsoft implementations, not by any margin, not any time soon.
So, as fundamentally correct as your point may be, the story "beats" you because it points out that Closed Source is misrepresenting a lower TCO by not accounting for security issues with the entire solution.
Close source solution offers "skip over" the windows virus/malware problem, Open Source has a clear answer to it now, and likely in the future. Large contracts should be made evaluating these things thoroughly, and include a real assessment of the validity of these offers, and not just take Joe I.T. Contractor's word for it.
This is a good point that I hoped someone would make. What is not explained in the article is that "Windows" isn't exactly the cause of the problem, but "Windows XP." If systems were maintained and upgraded per Microsoft's recommendations, Conficker would not have been anywhere near as big a problem. Say what you will about Windows Vista, if Manchester had upgraded their systems to Vista on the client side (or at the very least, not allowed users to run XP under Admin credentials), Conficker would never have been able to install itself.
I'm a big promoter of Open Source, but I work in a Microsoft shop where we still have all our desktops standardized on WindowsXP, but we never allow standard users to run as Admin, and we never had any problem with Conficker.
Migrating to Open Source would help a lot, but Manchester just needs better IT support (or more likely, better IT management) all the way around.
How about patching your systems in a timely manner so you don't have to suffer through these reactionary costs? The patch for the exploit conficker used was released in Nov 08. When did conficker start spreading around, Jan 09? Just saying.....
Insert funny smart-ass comment here.
My company was hit pretty hard by the conficker virus. It took a lot of users offline for days. The cleanup effort included bringing in a small army of consultants to help fix the issue. After everything was cleaned up and ready to go, IT's response to the outbreak was to kick our Virus Scanner into some crazy ultra cautious mode. The end result of that is 50% of my cpu is being used up by my virus scanner constantly and opening an app or compiling something in eclipse takes substantially longer than it used to. The fact that virus scanning software decreases worker productivity by tying up substantial system resources should be part of the TCO as well.
Our bugs are smarter than your test scripts.
You might have a point.... except that Apache is far more popular than IIS and yet IIS is the one routinely attacked.
Citation needed? ;)
Seriously, some data would be nice.
http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/today/requested.html
"Be prepared, son. That's my motto. Be prepared." --Joe Hallenbeck
Well, so long as netcraft confirms it...
Fast forward. MS only produces complicated behemoths. To this day MS Windows has not completely understood it is a network OS(perhaps 7 will do it). It is no longer the case that a part time person can keep 20 machines running. And when something does happen, it can be very difficult to fix. A single event can require a complete reinstall of the OS. I've made mistakes of going to a wrong web site and had this happen on a completely up to date machine. I have allowed untrusted parties to run my MS machines and have had significant damage caused within the hour. MS machines are the dependable work horses they once were. It now requires a significant infrastructure to keep MS machines a production. The best case scenario is to treat each machine as a RAID, keeping data off the machine, and using a standard HD disk images. Doesn't this sound like the pre-MS days of the so-called inefficient mainframe. MS is worried about this and has began a defensive campaign against IBM.
I would argue that MS machines are now, overall, as expensive and inefficient as the Unix machines were when ATT tried to save themselves with the introduction of this machine. This does not mean that MS does not have value, at least to legacy customers, but it may not be the best choice for startups, as Unix was the not the best choice in the late 1980's.
I can point to an exact time, around 2000, when MS became too expensive to use. It was a time whem MS would accuse paying customers of theft. Force customer to undergo intrusive and expensive audits. Require support staff to be redirected from supporting the customers need to make a profit, to the MS need to make a profit.
In light of this, I think we are going to see non-MS solution, just like we say non-ATT and non-IBM solutions. The biggest impediment to this is the easy supply of reliable naked PCs with full support to the SOHO owner. I think some companies, like Gateway, made a mistake in continuing to hook their saddle to the MS bandwagon instead of providing *nix solution for common business problems. In many cases, smart firms buy solutions, not an OS.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Windows has file permissions, too. Thats not the issue. The issue is more RPM/DEB and the fact that most users can install all they need through a trusted channel (yum/apt).
No, it submits passively.
I expect your shop is 100% Windows precisely because you're too macho to accept the many good reasons why a shop that is 100% anything makes you vulnerable.
Your arrogance will be your downfall.
People who say "sheeple" have about as much sophistication as an AOL user, and in fact are probably actually AOL users.
waitasec... #4, www.bing.com, runs on *LINUX*? Man, the kool-aid in Redmond must SUCK.
"I guess the moral of the story is, don't paint your airship with rocket fuel." -- Addison Bain
You've done your part!
"hacked" and "infected" are worlds apart.
This is the difference between your personal server being
rooted and the entire internet being brought to it's knees.
It's like the difference between needing to go to the hospital
because someone decided to stalk you and then shoot you versus
getting some plague like disease for going out in public.
Being hacked generally requires personal attention on the part of ...and there is "anti-exploit" code in Unix. It's probably been
some conscious assailant rather than just some automated bit of
malware exploiting some fundemental design flaw in the software
you're using.
around longer than the comparable "code" in DOS and Windows. The
fact that Unix is a harder target and it's users are intolerably
smug doesn't mean they aren't thinking about the problem.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
The answer is, is that it's because the IT staff obviously were not on top of the maintenance of the computers. Rolling out Windows Updates is not a difficult task, computers can be set to do it themselves, or you can use a centralized roll-out system like WSUS.
You've failed to address one of main reasons why "big shops" don't get updates out in a timely manner: The need for updates must be carefully balanced against the likelihood that updates are going to disrupt mission critical systems.
As an IT guy, you should probably know this. Maybe your systems aren't so critical, and you can afford to believe the absolutist tripe about how it's the IT staff's fault for not getting the update out in time. IME, the real world is rarely so black-and-white, and keyboard badasses that make grand pronouncements are rarely worth listening to.
People who say "sheeple" have about as much sophistication as an AOL user, and in fact are probably actually AOL users.
To claim that Window's insecurities aren't part of the true cost of Windows is genuinely dishonest. If you run Windows, and you DO NOT invest in security measures, you are a complete and utter fool. If you run Windows and you invest in inadequate security measures, then you are a mere run of the mill fool.
Any mission critical computer with sensitive information on it has to have expensive security software installed, and it must be supervised and monitored frequently. It is EXPENSIVE to keep a Windows machine "secure".
Only the basest of MS fanbois will say the same about *nix. Granted, only an idiot would set up a *nix machine without setting up a firewall, permissions, and other accepted security measures. But, an idiot can indeed manage to set a box up, and to run it for extended periods of time without problem, because *nix has a lot of security BUILT INTO IT. (Well, as long as our idiot doesn't run as root all the time - nothing can save an idiot from himself if he disregards ALL security measures.)
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
Douglas Adams' bowl of petunias thought "Oh no, not again". "Oh my god" was not part of the petunias' thoughts because it's widely known that petunias are, by and large, atheists.
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
Believe it or not, there are a whole lot of Microsoft users and some of them like their products. Automatically assuming someone is a shill because they speak positively about Windows is just plain retarded.
that is run by a competent administrator
This would be the key to any secure system. It is also possible to run Vista securely, but nobody does because that would require "training" the users more than we are used to. Linux is more secure by default, Linux users are more accustomed to running in a secured environment, etc.
Is the Linux security model "better" than the Vista one? I think that's a 99% subjective question. Subjectively, I find it easier to run Linux securely than Vista, and more importantly, it is easier to do things securely in Linux than to do them insecurely, in most instances. In Vista the opposite is often true - far easier to run in Administrator mode than to hassle with reconfiguring something to work properly in a secure way.
But, if you have a competent administrator and well trained users (both as common as Blue Moons on Thursdays), then Vista can be run just as securely as Linux, but then, well trained Linux user/administrators are also quite rare, in the real world.
yadda yadda MS has 90% market share so that's the reason it has malware yadda yadda
I absolutely hate this argument. It assumes such a simplicity, that the only consideration that people pick for coding a virus is marketshare of the target. Of course it's one consideration, but not the only. It,. more importantly, seems to want to wash Microsoft's hands of the problem, meaning nothing will get fixed. There are a lot of things MS can do to help the situation (and in their defense they have done some) but saying "it's because they own the desktop, nothing to see here, move along" doesn't help anyone. Including you, when your net is down because some Conficker DoS.
The problem with Microsoft is just how damn easy it is to write a virus, at least in the old days. Microsoft had a system (Windows + Explorer + Outlook) which:
This is the essence of all VB email viruses. This bad design had absolutely nothing to do with marketshare, just made the impact much more widespread.
Also, they allowed HTML email to hit activeX, which means an untrackable email can execute code just by you opening the mail. It's the Goodtimes virus, but for real.
I personally use windows, and prefer windows, and since XP came out have never had a problem with it myself. The biggest problem with computers is they're technical machines which lend themselves to needing to have technical knowledge in order to use one safely/correctly....which the majority of people do not have.
An analogy would be that "cars are complicated now, with computers and stuff, and people need to be expected to know all that tech stuff to operate safely, so we can let them explode or catch on fire if people are not paying attention 100% of the time, because it's really their fault if the car blows up when you cross the yellow line"
Again, simplicity in argument. YES stuff is complicated, but there are a lot of things you can tie down by default. MS is driven by checkbox marketing, the more features the better. This blows up when people have a financial incentive to exploit those features.
Careful, your Microsft uniform is showing. Ratchet back the shilling for a couple posts, then try it again more carefully. Also, "Windows anti-exploit code is insane" is not an approved meme. We don't want people thinking Windows drools on itself, now do we?
Just another "DOJ fascist authoritarian totalitarian bootlicker" -- Zeio
I suppose people think that complexity is some how better or more indicative of truth... because why are we trying to battle on these obscure money-lenders' rationale of governing costs of software? It's simple, linux is downloaded for free, and to get Windows alone is what.. 199.95? Oh, and how much for Photoshop? Oh, maybe add Maya, and then perhaps some VM software? Because, we all know that Windows by itself, out of the box, is rather limited. Add in a full blown development environment... oh, yes and Microsoft Office I presume yes?
TCO is bullshit. Windows has a price tag greater than 0. No matter how complex or convoluted you get, no matter how many lawyers with fantasy rationale obfuscating the obvious, no matter what is said or how it's said... any price on Windows is always going to be more expensive than free.
Cost of operation? How much wasted time do you think has been put into trying to figure out mundane tasks in Office 2007? Might as well be a completely new product, Open Office which clearly is a different product is more familiar to a previous Office user than 2007 is. TCO accounts for "training" as their defense? They are shooting them in the foot. I mean, you always have "training" with new software. Sometimes you have it with just bug-fixes or upgrades. Some of us, it might only be "familiarizing", but others who are so dead set in a routine to complete a task will struggle for sure.
What is it, about TCO, is relevant, useful.... real? Keep that to yourself, I've read all the garbage. Bottom line is there's really nothing governing this bullshit "TCO" philosophy, any more in favor of Microsoft than any other software or product for that matter. The real fact is the real numbers. 199.95 for retail Windows. And then tally up all the numbers that would make your "Windows" installation, and all the third party software, "legal". There's your real cost, there's the obvious cost.
How much do you think it would cost to have a legit Windows box? 5,000 USD total in software costs?
No, better yet. How much would a Windows box cost, purchasing all of the commercial software available that would enable the Windows user to do what the typical Linux installation can do? I mean, I have photo editing software, 3D renderers galore... office suites, every server imaginable, VM software, conversion tools... jesus my box is Linux... nuff said. My Windows box would break the bank paying for and installing only a fraction of the capabilities in commercial software.
Now, site wide licenses, think organization size... thousands of desktops... niche market functionality... dear god. TCO is the least of your worries it seems.