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Department of Homeland Security Warns Of Windows Security Flaws
    #5963889 -

The only thing that's going to convince Microsoft to fix things once and for all is when a class action suit seeking damages for every compromised system starts to bleed them. Too bad end user licenses preclude that.

It's funny that I can sign a waiver and hurt myself bungy jumping, then still sue the bungy jumping company, but I can't sue Microsoft when someone hacks me and steals my identity.

--

By Stan Beer
Monday, 14 August 2006

The news that a much feared new worm has been let loose to exploit the latest vulnerability in Microsoft Windows, made known last week when the software company released its security update MS06-040, will no doubt be the last straw for many users.

Those who have been forced to arm themselves to the teeth with multi-layer security defences, including firewalls, anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-phishing and anti-whatever packages, only to see their systems get taken down by some new Windows or Office vulnerability, must be wondering what they need to do to feel safe when they go online.

In what has become a bizarre monthly ritual that hopefully will one day be consigned to the garbage dump of history, Microsoft saves up all the fixes for new vulnerabilities in its systems that it or someone else discovers and issues the fixes to its hundreds of millions of users on the second Tuesday of the month.

With monotonous regularity, each month, Patch Tuesday as it has become known reveals a dozen or more serious deficiencies in Microsoft's software. Some of the bugs are so critical that if malicious attackers were to exploit an unpatched system they could gain control of an online computer without the owner having to lift a finger.

As critical as these bugs have been each month, the vulnerability addressed by security update MS06-040 is so serious that the US Department of Homeland Security has felt the need to get on the act and warn users to install the patch. No reason has been given for the Government agency to get involved. However, there is a possibility that it not just worried about cyber criminals gaining remote control of computers.

For many Windows users who have been hacked and had their systems compromised despite their best efforts at protecting their systems, at least some must be now wondering whether it is time to consider looking into whether there is a safer alternative.

http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/5272/106/


--------------------
Republican Values:

1) You can't get married to your spouse who is the same sex as you.
2) You can't have an abortion no matter how much you don't want a child.
3) You can't have a certain plant in your possession or you'll get locked up with a rapist and a murderer.

4) We need a smaller, less-intrusive government.

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Re: Department of Homeland Security Warns Of Windows Security Flaws [Re: Diploid]
    #5965222 -

Quote:
It's funny that I can sign a waiver and hurt myself bungy jumping, then still sue the bungy jumping company, but I can't sue Microsoft when someone hacks me and steals my identity.


Microsoft has much deeper pockets to pay lawyers with than the bungy jump operator (or his insurance company). Microsoft knows that if their lawyers fail even once, it will be the start of a leak that will destroy the company (and rightly so for putting out such buggy software). My only hope with Microsoft is the EU... Gates has too much pull in the US for anything to happen here other than a token slap on the wrist from time to time in response to destroying competition.


--------------------
Just another spore in the wind.

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Re: Department of Homeland Security Warns Of Windows Security Flaws [Re: Seuss]
    #5967168 -

Eh, many security experts say windows just gets hacked so much because it is so widely used and has so much support for different types of software and hardware. In fact, a recent exploit was found that affected both osx and windows but the hackers demonstrated it in osx simply because so many people think that osx is safer. Vista should be better since it was designed from the ground up with knowledge of XP problems and internet in mind, but there will always be bugs in this type of software.

Also, who do you sue when linux gets hacked?

http://pcworld.about.com/news/Mar112002id88424.htm

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