Re: Microsoft declares security is NOT its top priority
From: Unknown (Unknown_at_Somewhere.Kom)
Date: 06/22/04
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Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 16:24:21 GMT
What a ridiculous assumption.
"perfb" <perfb@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:775799ec.0406220429.589c1d21@posting.google.com...
> As M$ is refusing to allow all installations of its defective
> OS to be patched, it is apparent that internet security
> is NOT the top priority at M$. Any M$ argument to the contrary
> is thoroughly refuted by this simple fact.
>
> to wit:
>
> -----------------------------------------------
>
> Tuesday, 01 June 2004
>
> Microsoft's actions speak louder than words
> by Bruce Schneier, Network World
> Comment: is security Microsoft's top priority?
>
> The security of your computer and network depends on two things: what
> you do to secure your computer and network, and what everyone else
> does to secure their computers and networks. It's not enough for you
> to maintain a secure network. If other people don't maintain their
> security, we're all more vulnerable to attack.
> When many unsecure computers are connected to the Internet, worms
> spread faster and more extensively, distributed denial-of-service
> attacks are easier to launch, and spammers have more platforms from
> which to send e-mail. The more unsecure the average computer on the
> Internet is, the more unsecure your computer is.
>
> It's like malaria: everyone is safer when we all work together to
> drain the swamps and increase the level of hygiene in our community.
>
> This is the backdrop against which to view Microsoft's Windows XP
> security upgrade: Service Pack 2 (SP2). SP2 is a major security
> upgrade. It includes features such as Windows Firewall, an enhanced
> personal firewall that is turned on by default, better automatic
> patching and other security improvements.
>
> Initial news stories reported that Microsoft would make this upgrade
> available to all XP users, both licensed and unlicensed. To me, this
> was a smart move on Microsoft's part. Think about all the ways the
> company would benefit. Licensed users would be more secure and
> happier. Worms that attack Microsoft products would be less virulent,
> so Microsoft wouldn't look as bad in the press. Microsoft would win,
> its customers would win and the Internet would win. It's the kind of
> marketing move about which best-selling books are written.
>
> Then Microsoft said the initial comments were wrong; SP2 would not run
> on pirated copies of XP. Only legal copies of the software could be
> secured. This is the wrong decision, for all the same reasons that the
> initial decision was the correct one.
>
> Of course, Microsoft is within its rights to deny service to pirates.
> It makes sense for the company to make sure performance or feature
> upgrades do not run on pirated software. Microsoft wants to deny the
> benefits of its products to people who haven't paid for them, and
> entice these people to become licensed users. But security upgrades
> are different. Microsoft is harming its licensed users by denying
> security to unlicensed users.
>
> This decision, more than anything else Microsoft has said or done in
> the past few years, proves to me that security is not the company's
> first priority. Here was a chance for Microsoft to do the right thing:
> to put security ahead of profits. Here was a chance to look good in
> the press and improve security for all its users worldwide. Microsoft
> says that improving security is the most important thing, but its
> actions prove otherwise.
>
> SP2 is an important security upgrade to Windows XP, and I hope it is
> widely installed among licensed XP users. I also hope it is quickly
> pirated, so unlicensed XP users also can install it. For me to remain
> secure on the Internet, I need everyone to become more secure. And the
> more people who install SP2, the more we all benefit.
>
> Schneier is CTO of Counterpane Internet Security and author of Beyond
> Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World. He can
> be reached at www.schneier.com.
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