Re: Why does Microsoft make things so difficult?

On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 11:47:00 -0500, "Jonathan Kay [MVP]"
<msnewsreplies@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hi Ari,

Nice article, sadly this isn't slashdot where I'm sure you'd be modded up to 5, Insightful.


Thanks for not going overboard and remaining sane Jonathan. I realize
my comments were a little brassy here, and I did get a little carried
away mentioning some off topic items::>

But, WHY continue to build/expand/bug fix/write code just to be
reverse compatible when the entire concept is flawed?

I think the original poster asked why it was so complicated, and the
answer was because Messenger and it's variants are imbedded into the
OS when they should be independent stand alone utilities that are more
or less self contained. When a problem arises, you don't have to
modify a .net parameter or some other aspect of the OS that should
have nothing to do with the original issue. The answer to the problem
should lie in the application itself, not in some asinine interface to
an already bloated and complex operating system.

If a stand alone application was available, I'd probably run it,
provided it was possible to make it relatively secure and it was
independently evaluated by security minded professionals. While Bill
doesn't have to give the Messenger application away, by doing so, he
creates goodwill and an OS that is less complicated, less buggy and
runs faster because the individuals that want Messenger don't have to
be rocket scientists to make it work and don't have to be concerned
with issues outside the program itself.

I should also say I don't use Yahoo chat and ICQ either....although
they are stand alone, security professionals agree that they represent
a real security problem. I'd prefer to have other less informed kb
operators take the risk....and I simply just say NO.

I wish you the best.

A


.

Relevant Pages

  • [NT] MSN Messenger OCX Buffer Overflow
    ... The following security advisory is sent to the securiteam mailing list, and can be found at the SecuriTeam web site: http://www.securiteam.com ... Messenger OCX. ... Microsoft signed OCX. ... accept the pop-up "Install Now" signed by Microsoft. ...
    (Securiteam)
  • Re: windows security bulletin
    ... > Important windows security bulletin,buffer overrun in messenger ... messenger service, as some people recommend, only hides the symptom, ... Messenger Service of Windows ... Disabling the messenger ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Pop up Messages
    ... Are you trying to give people a false sense of security by ... advice, however well-intended, was to turn off the warnings. ... to completely get rid of messenger popups, ... >>messenger service are misinformed at best. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin)
  • Re: Vote to remove messenger integration
    ... However, if messenger is active and the above option is selected, (it ... integration without disabling any obviously don't need to be linked features ... That feature alone has paid for every cup of Starbucks coffee I've had this year. ... How was I supposed to download Netscape once they were forced to make it a free browser once again? ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Spam, a security risk?
    ... ...actually, to add to your response, there is a security risk, but the ... messenger spam is merely a useful warning of another larger one - that ports ... > stop the Messenger service (not the Messenger Application: ...
    (microsoft.public.security)