Re: SP2- To install or not to install, that is the question

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

From: André Gulliksen (andre.gulliksen_at_start.no)
Date: 01/24/05 

Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2005 18:35:29 +0100

David Candy wrote:
> No it doesn't age. It is exactly the same. My Dos 3.3 works exactly
> the same as it did 15 years ago. I don't care about security. This is
> just linux marketing hype.

Are you trolling?

AFAIK MS-DOS 3.3 had (okay, has) no networking support whatsoever. So you
are perfectly right, a default installation is probably not very vulnerable
to any remote exploits. But this thread is not about pre-internet operating
systems. It is not even about boats. It is about Windows XP. And it is a
fact that a clean default Windows XP installation should not be allowed
anywhere near a public IP address before it is pinned down, tied up, tucked
in and properly patched. Otherwise it would be blasted, sassed and generally
buttfscked after only minutes (yes, minutes) of exposure. Such a system has
plenty of known vulnerabilities, and probably even some unknown ones.

A clean default Windows XP SP2 installation probably also has holes waiting
to be discovered. But at least these holes will find themselves behind a
basic firewall, meaning the system can risk being exposed the time it takes
to bring it up to speed.

As for your point about Linux: Microsoft products would have plenty of
security issues, with or without Linux. Melissa proved that. Code Red proved
that. Blaster proved that. And these issues would have to be dealt with, one
way or the other. And even Linux is no magic wand against security threats.
Tons of Linux boxes are hacked, cracked, picked apart and violated every day
(though they do seem to be spared of the viral autonomous infections that
have scourged Microsoft products). If you are serious about security you
should probably look towards a BSD-based system, including Mac OS-X/Darwin.

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