Originally posted by DoG@Nov 14 2002, 05:53 PM
EDIT: Deleted Duped Post
Also whilst i am here........................
@PGHammer...
90% of my home users know nothing about computer security. So you are telling me that because they bought an operating system at full price for their shiny new computers its their fault that they have an insecure system?
Or is it mine for installing the OS?
NEITHER.
The blame lays solely on the software maufacturer.
WHY?
Because they should never have been allowed to release an operating system that either wasnt finished or wasnt tested for its secureness. You can forgive the earlier win9X platforms- if you are extremely forgiving- but to release windows XP with the amount of security flaws that it has is bordering on negligence.
When Windows Longhorn is released i will be expected to advise all the user of XP and 2000 that their systems are insecure and sell them the new OS. Which within 2 weeks will be found to have more leaks than the Titanic on a good day and will have more patches than a kingsize patchwork quilt. Will this be their fault as well? Sure it will. Then 2 years after that MS will release Palladium- and i will be expected to go back to my customers and tell them, once again that their systems are insecure and this time they will have to buy a fulll new system to run MS's new "Secure" OS that will have as many leaks as................................................ ... you get the picture i'm sure.
The only people who profit from this situation are MS and their chosen hardware partners who will be developing the new hardware. Thats the reason MS is in this game. It isnt to provide a better more secure compting experience. It's pure and simply to make money. And lots of it- no matter who they tread on along the way (See the past, recent and future antitrust/copyright law cases for proof of this attitude)
MS should stop work on coding their new OS's and put all the coders to work fixing their multiple cock-ups with their previous OS's. It will take all of their coders about 2 years to fix them, if ever they could.
Stopping now- dont want to start ranting 
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This is one of the biggest reasons I am more and more tempted every day to move to Linux permanently. Upgrades are free. Software is free. Software is open source. Unlike Windows, if a hole is discovered, it is patched within hours, not weeks or months, hell, even years. If you want to run a server, all you do is download a few packages and install them. HTTP, FTP, Database, SSH, SSL, ASP, DNS, DHCP, it's all free. Then there's the alternative. Buy 2K Server or 2K Advanced Server, clocking in at around 3 to 500$, for something that is usually more insecure, and definatly way more expensive. Over 60% of the net's servers run Linux with Apache, Bind, ProftpD, OpenSSL, etc. Why? Security and price. Two things Microsoft is seriously lacking. Yes, Linux has a much steeper learning curve. But would you rather take the time to learn it than have an OS that you have to pay 200 bucks a year or two to upgrade if you're on a workstation, 3 to 500 a year to upgrade if you're on a server?