<nitpick>I think this is more like the concept of the OS rather than the philosophy. The philosophy of UNIX is to use small tools that each do one thing extremely well.</nitpick>
Yeah, except that I don't think M$ offered the software for "free." The software cost is part of the settlement. Having settled that suit by purchasing hardware they would be within their rights to charge for all the licenses (on, as you noted - a larger number of PC's). Scary thought.
Well, I agree to the extent that users who launch.vbs attachments should be taken out back and shot at once but G-dubya has his hands full just now -- let's pick up the slack for 'im, eh?;)
I am only guessing, but it sounds like the "X" trick is hitting cancel on a win9x login screen? Win9x includes *no* security - does not require login, does not restrict filesystem access, etc.
To secure such a system, you should, well - upgrade to NT or better still, some brand of *nix. To secure a win9x system you need to use a third party utility. Symantec used to have a product called "Your Eyes Only" which included a bootlock, passworded screensaver, multiuser password administration and encryption. It was pretty good, but was discontinued. If you have win9x and need security the only solution I know of is NAI's Corporate PGP desktop, but I would still upgrade.
I doubt there's any sensitive, highly classified information stored on 95% of government computers
Maybe not, but if there is a trust relationship among computers on the network and one is compromised, you have access to all of them. That changes your odds a bit.
One way to score an immediate 'F' is *not* to secure the default configurations for many systems. If that is not done, default passwords can be used by any shmo with a manual. I am guessing that too many administrators just install devices and leave them alone when they have ensured that they work. That is not going to cut it in any environment that requires secure configurations.
Why don't they say how much RAM was on the systems? That might explain the difference since XP is a real RAM hog. I compared a P4 1.5GHz XP system with 128 MB to one with 256 and the difference was obvious. No benchmarks, unfortunately since it was in the store, but geez - let's get *all* the facts before we draw conclusions.
the company that sold the box to my employer wasn't around anymore to support it
Yeah, but Novell is around (for the moment) and can support their products like gangbusters. Novell tech support has answers to just about anything that can happen to your machine - they have seen it all. We still run 4.11 just because it is so damn stable and you cannot replace ZENworks with anything - nothing even comes close.
I was looking for someone to say those three little letters before I did and it was you. I particularly liked this little piece of propaganda.
Another point these Linux adoption stories fail to mention is the cost of transitioning from Windows to Linux; this cost is the reason so few companies are undertaking such an action.
and
Busch threw another wrench into any mass Linux migration by noting that the overall cost of Linux and Windows 2000 is almost identical after you factor in support and maintenance.
This happened to me with Adelphia when they changed their DNS servers.
Me: "I see you have taken down your old DNS servers. I just need the IP addresses of your primary and secondary DNS servers."
Tech: "We disable DNS."
Me: "No you don't; you tell your customers to disable DNS on their machines, but you are definitely running DNS. I just need the IP addresses please."
--long pause--
Tech: "I can't give you that information."
Me: "Then I need you to escalate this call."
Tech: "There is really no way I can do that."
Me: "Then let me speak to a supervisor."
Supervisor: "Sir, what operating system are you running."
Me: "I am running several operating systems behind a Linux firewall." (big mistake here)
Supervisor: "We don't support networks and you really aren't supposed to be running a firewall."
Me: "You would rather your customers have 24/7 connections to the Internet without a firewall?"
Supervisor: "We recommend our users use Blackice or Zonealarm."
Me: "That is an application firewall and really doesn't do the job I need. Anyway I am not asking you to support my network, I just need to get your DNS server IP addresses."
Supervisor: "I don't have that information."
Me: "Well, which is it? Are you not allowed to release the information or don't you have it?"
Supervisor: "I am not allowed to give out that information."
Me: *expletive*
Short drive to friends house, whois on adelphia.net and I have the publicly available information I needed. Turned out I was mistaken all along. I assumed my version of pump wouldn't grab the IP's when I restarted it, which it did. But it was a Friday night and I was tired. Sheesh.
I don't have an XP box or I would try this myself, but you could just place the XP box as the only node on the other side of a Linux firewall, run tcpdump on the firewall and capture all the data going though it while the XP box is starting up and dump that to a file. Then run snort against the dump file to see what is going on. Might take a little custom rule writing tho.
Well, if you believe the hype at Microsoft, it is now easier than ever to use. It is not that all Windows users are idiots, but many idiots *have* to use Windows because it is all they can (or care to) figure out.
I had excellent experience with Acer support when a client (this was a few years ago) wanted just about everything on his machine upgraded. He had a Win3.1 install which someone else upgraded to 95 and added RAM for him. I added a second parallel port and got his scanner working on it. When it came to adding a second hard drive, I determined that the secondary IDE interface on the mobo was bad. He only had one week left on his warranty and Acer sent a tech to his house to replace the motherboard. When that one didn't work either (it took some convincing of the techs by phone that I knew what I was doing) they sent the tech back out with a second mobo, which finally worked. That second call was placed the day before the warranty expired:)
Throughout, I found Acer support knowledgeable, courteous and helpful - it was just the hardware that sucked.
First, I don't think this is targeting the home user - the idea is to cut down on licensing costs and home users don't usually care as much whether they can install a copy of their OS on more than one computer.
Second, I disagree that Linux should not be after the Windows market. What Windows does is the same (albeit a subset) as what Linux does, essentially; just not as well. Linux has a long way to go to take over that market, but licensing plans like XP's are just the thing to make managers eager to find an alternative. That said, I doubt this is the alternative for your reason #3.
Well, Linux needs an in-road to the corporate desktop if it is really going to spread. If your corporation runs Microsoft Office (and *so* many do) how can you run Linux on the desktop? If Staroffice doesn't work 100% with the existing Word and Excel files a company uses every day, no one is going to use it because no one wants to pay their employees to regenerate all that work.
Well, then it would appear that we need to prosecute terrorist hacking I guess. Someone bringing down the air-traffic control system ought to have a greater punishment than someone who for example, steals details about AT&T's switching networks.
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Unix: Everything is a file or a process
<nitpick>I think this is more like the concept of the OS rather than the philosophy. The philosophy of UNIX is to use small tools that each do one thing extremely well.</nitpick>
So ok, make M$ buy all Apple hardware and let schools choose which OS'es they want - OS X, Linux PPC, Yellow Dog Linux ...
Yeah, except that I don't think M$ offered the software for "free." The software cost is part of the settlement. Having settled that suit by purchasing hardware they would be within their rights to charge for all the licenses (on, as you noted - a larger number of PC's). Scary thought.
Well, I agree to the extent that users who launch .vbs attachments should be taken out back and shot at once but G-dubya has his hands full just now -- let's pick up the slack for 'im, eh? ;)
one one thousand ... two one thousand ...
Oh - duh :/
Bzzzt - try again. Firewalls are built to protect from threats, internal or external. This RFC is the steaming pile of shit.
I especially like this one: bypassing the IT manager in charge of the Firewall ... no need to waste time involving any managers for approval.
To secure such a system, you should, well - upgrade to NT or better still, some brand of *nix. To secure a win9x system you need to use a third party utility. Symantec used to have a product called "Your Eyes Only" which included a bootlock, passworded screensaver, multiuser password administration and encryption. It was pretty good, but was discontinued. If you have win9x and need security the only solution I know of is NAI's Corporate PGP desktop, but I would still upgrade.
Maybe not, but if there is a trust relationship among computers on the network and one is compromised, you have access to all of them. That changes your odds a bit.
One way to score an immediate 'F' is *not* to secure the default configurations for many systems. If that is not done, default passwords can be used by any shmo with a manual. I am guessing that too many administrators just install devices and leave them alone when they have ensured that they work. That is not going to cut it in any environment that requires secure configurations.
Well, isn't that what all Berkeley students historically study (albeit from a somewhat detached perspective)?
Yeppers. here is a short blurb about that :)
Why don't they say how much RAM was on the systems? That might explain the difference since XP is a real RAM hog. I compared a P4 1.5GHz XP system with 128 MB to one with 256 and the difference was obvious. No benchmarks, unfortunately since it was in the store, but geez - let's get *all* the facts before we draw conclusions.
Yeah, but Novell is around (for the moment) and can support their products like gangbusters. Novell tech support has answers to just about anything that can happen to your machine - they have seen it all. We still run 4.11 just because it is so damn stable and you cannot replace ZENworks with anything - nothing even comes close.
I was looking for someone to say those three little letters before I did and it was you. I particularly liked this little piece of propaganda.
Another point these Linux adoption stories fail to mention is the cost of transitioning from Windows to Linux; this cost is the reason so few companies are undertaking such an action.
and
Busch threw another wrench into any mass Linux migration by noting that the overall cost of Linux and Windows 2000 is almost identical after you factor in support and maintenance.
Sounds like it came straight out of Redmond.
My God! Now that was scary. I will have to rock myself to sleep clutching a two-liter of Code Red Mountain Dew. shiver
This happened to me with Adelphia when they changed their DNS servers.
Me: "I see you have taken down your old DNS servers. I just need the IP addresses of your primary and secondary DNS servers."
Tech: "We disable DNS."
Me: "No you don't; you tell your customers to disable DNS on their machines, but you are definitely running DNS. I just need the IP addresses please."
--long pause--
Tech: "I can't give you that information."
Me: "Then I need you to escalate this call."
Tech: "There is really no way I can do that."
Me: "Then let me speak to a supervisor."
Supervisor: "Sir, what operating system are you running."
Me: "I am running several operating systems behind a Linux firewall." (big mistake here)
Supervisor: "We don't support networks and you really aren't supposed to be running a firewall."
Me: "You would rather your customers have 24/7 connections to the Internet without a firewall?"
Supervisor: "We recommend our users use Blackice or Zonealarm."
Me: "That is an application firewall and really doesn't do the job I need. Anyway I am not asking you to support my network, I just need to get your DNS server IP addresses."
Supervisor: "I don't have that information."
Me: "Well, which is it? Are you not allowed to release the information or don't you have it?"
Supervisor: "I am not allowed to give out that information."
Me: *expletive*
Short drive to friends house, whois on adelphia.net and I have the publicly available information I needed. Turned out I was mistaken all along. I assumed my version of pump wouldn't grab the IP's when I restarted it, which it did. But it was a Friday night and I was tired. Sheesh.
I don't have an XP box or I would try this myself, but you could just place the XP box as the only node on the other side of a Linux firewall, run tcpdump on the firewall and capture all the data going though it while the XP box is starting up and dump that to a file. Then run snort against the dump file to see what is going on. Might take a little custom rule writing tho.
Well, if you believe the hype at Microsoft, it is now easier than ever to use. It is not that all Windows users are idiots, but many idiots *have* to use Windows because it is all they can (or care to) figure out.
Holy shit! I get a skull and crossbones, a star of David and a thumbs up!
Throughout, I found Acer support knowledgeable, courteous and helpful - it was just the hardware that sucked.
Because you can only run that copy of Windows on one computer. You can install Lindows on multiple machines for the single $99 purchase.
Second, I disagree that Linux should not be after the Windows market. What Windows does is the same (albeit a subset) as what Linux does, essentially; just not as well. Linux has a long way to go to take over that market, but licensing plans like XP's are just the thing to make managers eager to find an alternative. That said, I doubt this is the alternative for your reason #3.
Well, Linux needs an in-road to the corporate desktop if it is really going to spread. If your corporation runs Microsoft Office (and *so* many do) how can you run Linux on the desktop? If Staroffice doesn't work 100% with the existing Word and Excel files a company uses every day, no one is going to use it because no one wants to pay their employees to regenerate all that work.
Well, then it would appear that we need to prosecute terrorist hacking I guess. Someone bringing down the air-traffic control system ought to have a greater punishment than someone who for example, steals details about AT&T's switching networks.