Microsoft Lawsuit

[Narbus]

http://msn-cnet.com.com/2100-7348_3-508 ... ?tag=st_rn


Discuss.

[liam]

this ain't my place. Windows has been beating the shit out of me for like 18 years

[Corey]

LAME

[Venom]

"To me it is clear that Microsoft doesn't bear 100 percent of the responsibility for worms and viruses," Schneier said, "but they aren't zero percent" responsible either. Schneier is one of seven well-known security professionals who authored a report arguing that Microsoft's dominance endangers national security. Several arguments in the suit against the software giant mirror those in the security report.

This guy nailed it in my opinion. Microsoft needs to do more testing before releasing a product. They know the system best and should be able to find any holes or weaknesses in the code. In my opinion a lot of these worms and viruses could have been prevented with a little more effort in the testing phase of the OS. Notice how fast they can patch it, they just need to look harder before releasing the product rather than waiting for someone to be taken advantage of first. To me this is VERY serious. It only takes one "cyber terrorist" to really screw up the inner workings of the world today. We rely on computers for almost everything and I think we are WAY to vulnerable to very costly attacks.

[doug]

i think Bill Gates should just take his money and close MS.

talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

[Venom]

Thats goin a bit far. Whos gonna provide us with an OS? Someone would have to buy MS and maybe improve on it, however the alternatives pretty grim. Linux is a great OS but not very user friendly when it comes to the average person.

[Corey]

well that's the trade-off. With usability you sacrifice security. Also because MS is so big, everyone is gunning for them to find holes. I don't think that it is fair to make charges against Bill Gates.

[wanan]

well that's the trade-off. With usability you sacrifice security. Also because MS is so big, everyone is gunning for them to find holes. I don't think that it is fair to make charges against Bill Gates.

Not entirely true. I have a Mac which is much more user friendly than PC's, yet there are practically no viruses that affect it.

[Venom]

You're right Corey. I've never understood all the Gates bashing. The man has givin us so much and is a huge contributer to charities, etc. But like you said when you're big everyone is gunning for you. Envy is a big part of it as well. Its all over the world right now. Hate what you envy.

[Narbus]

A brief point:
Windows is pretty much the only OS around where the user is logged in with root access. Linux, Mac OS, etc all pop you up a level to a /home type directory, where the only damage you could really do is to your own little directory. The root is, by and large, safe.

Why this hasn't been changed, I dunno.

Do with this what you will.

[Axtech]

well that's the trade-off. With usability you sacrifice security. Also because MS is so big, everyone is gunning for them to find holes. I don't think that it is fair to make charges against Bill Gates.

Not entirely true. I have a Mac which is much more user friendly than PC's, yet there are practically no viruses that affect it.

Yes, but that's because Macs offer little to no user access. Windows (especially versions like XP Pro) are geared towards more "advanced" users.

[Corey]

Not to mention nobody uses Macs and they are rarely if ever used as servers.

MS is dealing with a legacy system (DOS) which is a barrier they've had to overcome for a long time and still are.

[Ignignokt]

it doesn't matter how much they improve their software security wise, because there will always be people out there to crack it. you have to remember, the people writing this software ARE human, and ARE going to make mistakes, and there will always be someone out there to crack it. it's that simple, it doesn't matter who's making it, microsoft, sun microsystems, etc. etc., there are always going to be flaw because its a human creation.