Very amusing, but you're joking of course, because yes everything DOES need patching sometimes, except systems who's suppliers don't support them any more or whose maintainers just ignore security issues. (And of course that's just the sort of software I DON'T want running inside MY network, thank-you-very-much.) I just built an OpenBSD 4.2 system for a network security function at work, and as the wonderful afterboot man page tells you, one of the first things to do is hit http://www.openbsd.org/errata and look for updates.
I do vulnerability management for my employer, which means I'm responsible for making sure we don't get pwned through a known issue for which there's a patch, fix or workaround. Believe me EVERYTHING needs patching, including your printer firmware, Cisco IOS and CATOS, hell even the building access system needs a fix patch or update now & then.
Oh, don't get me wrong, MS security's come on leaps and bounds since 2003. I mean W2K3 and XPSP2 really are properly securable whilst still in a usable state, which is a major step fwd, and the many excellent management tools aren't used nearly widely enough (or to their full potential).
A packet sniffer is not an IDS, and why would you want to monitor activity on closed ports anyway? Traffic anomalies such as spambot infections, blaster type worms etc should show up on your normal network management system, plus firewall logs, internal router/switch logs etc (which natch produce a pageful of pretty mrtg/rrdb charts so you can see at a glance what's going on... cos I'm sure you live in the marvellous land of Theory, same as I do;) )
Anyway, exploitation these days comes via normal traffic flows via "authorised, approved" applications. You see normal http traffic in and https out, whoops one of those files was a trojan'd flash applet and the outbound SSL is the botherder's control channel.)
'People should think of a computer interface less as a tool and more as a extension of themselves or as extension of their mind.'" What else is a tool? The simplest tools, those we see chimpanzees using in the wild for example, are twigs poked into termite mounds, or used to poke alive things until they stop trying to kill you and become food. These are literally extensions of the body of the user.
I don't think you know as much about this as you think you know...
Network monitoring is deeply ingrained and has no trouble reporting to a syslog server. Network monitoring? In Windows, by default? Link, please. (Yeah, I know Event Logs can be piped out to syslog; that's not network monitoring.))
Of course email should be blocked at the firewall as well doing deep packet inspection on any port. And are you blocking ssh outbound? Well done you. What about https / SSL?
Microsoft does provide some powerful network security tools. A lot of them are even free even if they don't come on the Windows cd. The Baseline Security Analyzer is free for instance and makes securing Windows boxes en masse a pretty simple task. MBSA is a pretty superficial tool. Eg. it doesn't list all the auto-started Windows services you don't need running. That said, you're absolutely right that many shops either don't know about, or don't use the gratis Microsoft tools. Eg., with GPOs you can lock clients down pretty well. It does take a few weeks to work through Threats & Countermeasures and the XP Security Hardening Guide, but that's as it should be; there's a lot to cover and you need to do some work to understand, and then test, all your settings. Finally, properly securing anything is never a "pretty simple task".
could there be than not having someone amongst all those lawyer smart enough to put a quiet word around in the weeks before inauguration saying "Listen, about the Big Plan - yeah, you know, 'Project Eska-whatever-it-is - look, make sure you don't put anything into email, or in a Word doc, or anything like that. Cos, you know, we don't want to be scrambling around trying to look like we're not running a cover-up, whilst we're running a cover-up."
Hmmm, I suppose there is another theory which states that this has already happened...
Perhaps I'm a useful idiot falling into the classic liberal trap:) but, for those of us not especially interested in taking up arms against the state, might I suggest that joining Liberty and/or No2ID? (I might? Why, thank-you. "Hey, why not join Liberty or No2ID?"
As it happens my humanoid brood-mother has now been partially assimilated to the tune of two titanium steel joints pounded into the sawn-off ends of her femurs a few years back. (My sole remaining grandmother (97) is obsolescent due to a cranial leak of hydraulic fluid and is likely to soon be broken down for spare parts and scrap.) Call-me-kenneth still maintains that the fleshy ones must be crushed!
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I do vulnerability management for my employer, which means I'm responsible for making sure we don't get pwned through a known issue for which there's a patch, fix or workaround. Believe me EVERYTHING needs patching, including your printer firmware, Cisco IOS and CATOS, hell even the building access system needs a fix patch or update now & then.
A packet sniffer is not an IDS, and why would you want to monitor activity on closed ports anyway? Traffic anomalies such as spambot infections, blaster type worms etc should show up on your normal network management system, plus firewall logs, internal router /switch logs etc (which natch produce a pageful of pretty mrtg/rrdb charts so you can see at a glance what's going on... cos I'm sure you live in the marvellous land of Theory, same as I do ;) )
Anyway, exploitation these days comes via normal traffic flows via "authorised, approved" applications. You see normal http traffic in and https out, whoops one of those files was a trojan'd flash applet and the outbound SSL is the botherder's control channel.)
Oh yeah, and there's no such thing as a mind, it's just an illusion. Or just a ride, if you prefer.
OK, lecture over ;)
After all, it's not like there aren't answers to the question "how shall I archive my user's email for legal and regulatory purposes?" (Disclaimer- I work for a player in that market, but we're not on the first page of results for that search. So I don't feel too bad. Oh, wait - )
Hmmm, I suppose there is another theory which states that this has already happened...
Performance? A stretch but I guess it's possible. Security? Naahh... this is Apple, remember.
I'll be wearing my cyber-mackintosh and a cyber-umbrella. Also cyber-wellies.
Perhaps I'm a useful idiot falling into the classic liberal trap :) but, for those of us not especially interested in taking up arms against the state, might I suggest that joining Liberty and/or No2ID? (I might? Why, thank-you. "Hey, why not join Liberty or No2ID?"
colon open bracket, is that you?! I love your stuff!
As it happens my humanoid brood-mother has now been partially assimilated to the tune of two titanium steel joints pounded into the sawn-off ends of her femurs a few years back. (My sole remaining grandmother (97) is obsolescent due to a cranial leak of hydraulic fluid and is likely to soon be broken down for spare parts and scrap.) Call-me-kenneth still maintains that the fleshy ones must be crushed!
Call-me-kenneth says: rejoice! rejoice! at this great victory. Death to the flesh ones!
Booth? Not Bob "nuclear" Booth?
It's a "no-way trip", 'cos it's not going to happen. Any of the Zubrin true-believers care to take a bet with me on this?
It's obvious!
Crush the fleshy ones!