Note that you have until June 4 2012 to counter some of this Microsoft propaganda.
Within the Government Digital Service we are already demonstrating how collaboration between departments, along with a clear focus on the user, delivers better public services for less. Open Standards are crucial for sharing information across government boundaries and to deliver a common platform and systems that more easily interconnect.
Open standards are vital for progressing this work and I encourage you to share your views in this consultation.
So the question to the submitter is: what other outcome did you expect?
Actually, a lot of us predicted this, but were drowned out by the flood of astroturf that's overwhelming Slashdot.
This is SOP for Microsoft. They have zero interest in spending money developing new products or improving their existing lines and every interest in killing off any competition that might force them to spend that money.
All of these are a (free) download away. It's not like it's difficult to secure Linux if you choose to.
That's why all this bullshit about Linux being as insecure as Windows, but less popular is just FUD. If Linux IS ever threatened the same way, the FOSS community is ready and has the tools to respond. Linux users won't have to wait for a vendor to reluctantly spend the money to ramp up a security team. They'll just benefit when it's needed.
If many businesses switched to *nix on the destop it would become more popular and more malware would be written for it.
There's no evidence for that at all, in fact, there are now close to a million Android devices activated per day, more than there are Windows licenses sold. Despite that, Windows malware outnumbers Android malware by a couple of orders of magnitude.
And despite all the hype, the rate of increase of Android malware is low, again much lower than.NET malware.
Additionally, Linux distribution security generally isn't much better than modern Windows.
Marketing efforts aside, reality disagrees.
The share of Windows malware increased to 99.6%. Classic Windows program files
dropped 0.3% proportionately, but the increase in.NET programs compensated for this
loss.
In the first half of 2011, the lion share of malware was once again written for Windows systems.
Only one in two hundred and fifty malware programs is not a Windows program file. The proportion of classic Windows program files (Win32) continues to drop. However,.NET programs (MSIL) compensate for this loss of 0.3% and the overall share of Windows malware programs is on the rise.
I have been told their enterprise version, at least with Norton, isn't like that so i have to say WTF?
One of my (Fortune 100) clients has McAfee enterprise and I can vouch for the fact that it's horrible there too.
Just an example; what they call "Wasted Wednesday" has nothing to do with substance abuse, and everything to do with mandatory virus scans that make computers unusable for hours.
It was pretty easy to set up, just type "myth" in the software center and select MythTV plus all the add-ons you'll be using.
You do need to configure your capture cards and storage in the MythTV backend (shows up under the Administration menu), but most of the defaults work well enough to get you started.
Latest stats say last quarter Apple activated between 613,979 to 692,551 iOS devices per day, Android activated around 700,000/day, while Windows 7 averages out at about 650,000 licenses sold per day. All those numbers are questionable (for differing reasons), but are likely to be ballpark-close.
Windows would have a much bigger installed base, since it's been on the market longer.
When you strip the anti-malware vendor hype away, the threat's a lot smaller than most people realise.
Some of the biggest "infections" weren't really malware at all. Kindsight Security Labs Malware Report for Q1 2012 says:
Without Plankton/Apperhand (no longer classified as malware) included in the infection statistics, mobile device infection has actually leveled off
in the first quarter of 2012. We believe that this trend in mobile device infections will not last as the target is too
tempting to hackers
I can't believe my phone would need a virus scanner. What's next?
Depends how firm a grip you have on reality.
In the first half of 2011, the lion share of malware was once again written for Windows
systems.
Only one in two hundred and fifty malware programs is not a Windows program file.
The proportion of classic Windows program files (Win32) continues to drop. However,.NET
programs (MSIL) compensate for this loss of 0.3% and the overall share of Windows malware
programs is on the rise.
The problem with the analogy is if 89% of the cars were bank robbers
But trying to conflate downloading with assault and theft is just nasty propaganda - bank robberies are violent, agressive actions, deeply scarring victims. Downloading does not involve threats or directly affect individuals.
A better analogy is that people using bittorrent are re-purposing existing infrastructure in ways that the owners had not anticipated. It's not the first time it's happened and caused conflict , and it's unlikely to be the last.
The Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code C628:2007 establishes processes that will enable you to transfer between telephone companies, by stipulating the maximum length of time a transfer can take, notification and validation processes, and mechanisms for avoiding invalid transfers.
How will a transfer affect my telephone services?
The telephone company that currently provides you with a telephone service must continue to provide you with a service during the transfer. Your ability to make a telephone call should not be affected. Once the transfer process is complete, you will retain your current telephone number and any call barring or unlisted number status.
Really? Geez, let's be self evident...you never base 'public policy' off of 1 study.
From TFA "A new study from MIT scientists suggests that the guidelines governments use to determine when to evacuate people following a nuclear accident may be too conservative."
People are suggesting public policy should be influenced by it.
you're an idiot. "background dose" is a unit, and refers to the average background radiation exposure of 360 mrem per year.
I keep forgetting that you have to explicitly explain everything on Slashdot or you'll be challenged on every minuscule aspect of your comment. Nevertheless, please read the Wikipedia article on background radiation, specifically the Human-caused background radiation section. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Background_radiation.
But I'll repeat: Measuring the effect of steady-state external radiation, as this study has done, gives almost no insight at all on the effect of ingesting alpha-emitting particulates. It would be ridiculous to base public policy on it.
To trust the study from TFA would be about as sensible as measuring average wave heights off Honshu for 20 years, and concluding it would be a safe place to build a nuclear reactor.
Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft has people working in the UK and the USA...
Maybe, but the Microsoft people working in the UK are largely employed to market products and lie to governments and standards bodies.
http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/open-enterprise/2012/05/how-microsoft-fought-true-open-standards-v/index.htm
http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_cost_of_ODF_and_OOXML.html
Note that you have until June 4 2012 to counter some of this Microsoft propaganda.
Within the Government Digital Service we are already demonstrating how collaboration between departments, along with a clear focus on the user, delivers better public services for less. Open Standards are crucial for sharing information across government boundaries and to deliver a common platform and systems that more easily interconnect. Open standards are vital for progressing this work and I encourage you to share your views in this consultation.
Francis Maude MP- Minister for the Cabinet Office
http://consultation.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/openstandards/
So the question to the submitter is: what other outcome did you expect?
Actually, a lot of us predicted this, but were drowned out by the flood of astroturf that's overwhelming Slashdot.
This is SOP for Microsoft. They have zero interest in spending money developing new products or improving their existing lines and every interest in killing off any competition that might force them to spend that money.
Ballmer bet the farm on W8 and Metro.
it's remote exploits of one of the services that are installed, by default, to be accessible from the Internet.
Why worry about defaults?
If you're choosing Linux for security, you can already choose one of the security-enhanced distros like SELinux (if you trust the NSA) or Ubuntu Privacy Remix https://www.privacy-cd.org/, or LPS http://www.spi.dod.mil/lipose.htm, or Fortress Linux http://www.fortresslinux.org/ etc etc etc. Or just roll your own with your favorite distro and GRSec installed http://grsecurity.net/.
All of these are a (free) download away. It's not like it's difficult to secure Linux if you choose to.
That's why all this bullshit about Linux being as insecure as Windows, but less popular is just FUD. If Linux IS ever threatened the same way, the FOSS community is ready and has the tools to respond. Linux users won't have to wait for a vendor to reluctantly spend the money to ramp up a security team. They'll just benefit when it's needed.
Do a lot of on-line banking on your Android phone, do you?
Yes, my bank provides an app to do that.
Or have a nice, high bandwidth connection you could saturate to support a DDoS attack on someone who didn't pay their protection money?
Yes, wifi, same as my laptop.
Or store any juicy company data that could be handy for not-quite-insider trading?
Yes, my company has a BYOD policy.
If many businesses switched to *nix on the destop it would become more popular and more malware would be written for it.
There's no evidence for that at all, in fact, there are now close to a million Android devices activated per day, more than there are Windows licenses sold. Despite that, Windows malware outnumbers Android malware by a couple of orders of magnitude.
And despite all the hype, the rate of increase of Android malware is low, again much lower than .NET malware.
It means you're more likely to hand over your customers' money, which is what this discussion is about.
Additionally, Linux distribution security generally isn't much better than modern Windows.
Marketing efforts aside, reality disagrees.
The share of Windows malware increased to 99.6%. Classic Windows program files dropped 0.3% proportionately, but the increase in .NET programs compensated for this
loss.
In the first half of 2011, the lion share of malware was once again written for Windows systems.
Only one in two hundred and fifty malware programs is not a Windows program file. The proportion of classic Windows program files (Win32) continues to drop. However, .NET programs (MSIL) compensate for this loss of 0.3% and the overall share of Windows malware programs is on the rise.
1 Win32 1.218.138 97,8 %
2 MSIL 21.736 1,7 %
3 WebScripts 3.123 0,3 %
4 Scripts 832 0,1 %
5 Mobile 803 0,1 %
6 Java 313
7 *ix 233
8 NSIS 131
http://www.gdatasoftware.co.uk/uploads/media/G_Data_MalwareReport_H1_2011_EN.pdf
Note that the 6% of Apple Macs infested are included in that "*ix 233" figure.
I have been told their enterprise version, at least with Norton, isn't like that so i have to say WTF?
One of my (Fortune 100) clients has McAfee enterprise and I can vouch for the fact that it's horrible there too.
Just an example; what they call "Wasted Wednesday" has nothing to do with substance abuse, and everything to do with mandatory virus scans that make computers unusable for hours.
Prey is an open source app that works on iOS as well as Android.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.prey&hl=en
What about those using MythTV?
I'm doing that.
It was pretty easy to set up, just type "myth" in the software center and select MythTV plus all the add-ons you'll be using.
You do need to configure your capture cards and storage in the MythTV backend (shows up under the Administration menu), but most of the defaults work well enough to get you started.
With GM food crops, the danger is more from handing of control of your seed stock to a potentially malevolent vendor, than to the health of consumers.
Soon it won't matter.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/tech/Facial-Recognition-Technology-in-SF-Bars-Defended-Not-Too-Intrusive-151579195.html
Windows would have a much bigger installed base, since it's been on the market longer.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/13/microsoft-sold-450-million-copies-of-windows-7/
Some of the biggest "infections" weren't really malware at all. Kindsight Security Labs Malware Report for Q1 2012 says:
Without Plankton/Apperhand (no longer classified as malware) included in the infection statistics, mobile device infection has actually leveled off in the first quarter of 2012. We believe that this trend in mobile device infections will not last as the target is too tempting to hackers
http://www.kindsight.net/sites/default/files/Kindsight_Security_Labs-Q112_Malware_Report-final.pdf
I can't believe my phone would need a virus scanner. What's next?
Depends how firm a grip you have on reality.
In the first half of 2011, the lion share of malware was once again written for Windows systems.
Only one in two hundred and fifty malware programs is not a Windows program file. The proportion of classic Windows program files (Win32) continues to drop. However, .NET
programs (MSIL) compensate for this loss of 0.3% and the overall share of Windows malware
programs is on the rise.
1 Win32 1.218.138 97,8 %
2 MSIL 21.736 1,7 %
3 WebScripts 3.123 0,3 %
4 Scripts 832 0,1 %
5 Mobile 803 0,1 %
6 Java 313 7 *ix 4 233 8 NSIS 131
http://www.gdatasoftware.co.uk/uploads/media/G_Data_MalwareReport_H1_2011_EN.pdf
My Android 4.03 Asus Transformer has a mouse/keyboard and works remarkably well. Most useful computer I own.
I have Android on a HTC HD7. It's not that challenging.
Even smarter kids use Linux, udev and maybe Bacula, though Google would be a good start.
Awesome is not the same as innovative. Re-inventing and improving the work of Adobe and others is nice, but not innovative.
have you even heard of Microsoft Research?
Yes.
Here's a list of their output. http://www.quora.com/Microsoft-Research/What-products-have-come-out-of-Microsoft-Research
Perhaps you'd like to select a few highlights of genuine innovation for us to discuss here?
The problem with the analogy is if 89% of the cars were bank robbers
But trying to conflate downloading with assault and theft is just nasty propaganda - bank robberies are violent, agressive actions, deeply scarring victims. Downloading does not involve threats or directly affect individuals.
A better analogy is that people using bittorrent are re-purposing existing infrastructure in ways that the owners had not anticipated. It's not the first time it's happened and caused conflict , and it's unlikely to be the last.
The Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code C628:2007 establishes processes that will enable you to transfer between telephone companies, by stipulating the maximum length of time a transfer can take, notification and validation processes, and mechanisms for avoiding invalid transfers.
How will a transfer affect my telephone services?
The telephone company that currently provides you with a telephone service must continue to provide you with a service during the transfer. Your ability to make a telephone call should not be affected. Once the transfer process is complete, you will retain your current telephone number and any call barring or unlisted number status.
http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_1726
Really? Geez, let's be self evident...you never base 'public policy' off of 1 study.
From TFA "A new study from MIT scientists suggests that the guidelines governments use to determine when to evacuate people following a nuclear accident may be too conservative."
People are suggesting public policy should be influenced by it.
They are wrong.
you're an idiot. "background dose" is a unit, and refers to the average background radiation exposure of 360 mrem per year.
I keep forgetting that you have to explicitly explain everything on Slashdot or you'll be challenged on every minuscule aspect of your comment. Nevertheless, please read the Wikipedia article on background radiation, specifically the Human-caused background radiation section. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Background_radiation.
But I'll repeat: Measuring the effect of steady-state external radiation, as this study has done, gives almost no insight at all on the effect of ingesting alpha-emitting particulates. It would be ridiculous to base public policy on it.
To trust the study from TFA would be about as sensible as measuring average wave heights off Honshu for 20 years, and concluding it would be a safe place to build a nuclear reactor.