|
Microsoft, It finally happend.
Author: HumanX | Saturday October 04, 2003
Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court a class action lawsuit was brought against Microsoft over the Operating System's constant security issues.
I have been writing about this particular issue for some time. One of my personal opinions is that Microsoft has bordered on negligence, and this negligence has lead to the theft of at least one users personal information. And that lawsuit ultimately has brought this lawsuit to light.
Why in my opinion is Microsoft bordering on negligence? Microsoft has continued to release new applications or updated systems without first looking into past security issues. Each update has not only left these issues in place, but has produced new vulnerabilities for the public to contend with.
The balance of innovation and security.
Microsoft has placed itself in this position because of its monopolizing practices. By forcing contenders out and becoming the lead operating system, they have taken on the responsibility of safeguarding the nations, the world’s personal or corporate data. And unfortunately, it is not a responsibility they have pursued.
Granted, being in the spotlight invites trouble. And being the big man on campus invites even more. But here is how I see it, imagine if Microsoft was still only selling Windows 98,ME,NT with only services packs being released (possibly charging a small fee).. Imagine that they focused on stability, performance and security, only.
A schema similar to Japanese car manufacturers. Design a car and continually upgrade that car making only aesthetic changes. Japanese cars run forever because the manufacturers do not deviate from what they know works.
It would not be possible for Microsoft to do this because in the computer world innovation always wins out. But, if they were to somehow merge security and innovation together into there operating systems, I think they would fair better in the security world.
All operating systems suffer from Vulnerabilities, it is just the way it is. But I think a 30+ billion dollar company should have figured out a better way of managing these issues. This is why Microsoft gets beat up over security. Because we all know they have the money and the know-how to better deal with security. And it is clear that security is priority #2.
Personally, I think Microsoft should take a year off and focus solely on improving its product line from a security standpoint. If Microsoft wanted to make a bold and much appreciate PR move, they would do just that. Microsoft would say, “For the next year we are a security company.”
Do you want to improve your security situation?
1. If you must use MS-Windows, Download Netscape and set it as you default browser and email client.
2. If you would like to try another O/S, give Linux a try. There are a number of distributions that will let you run Linux from a CD so that you do not have to modify your current computers configuration.
3. Install Anti-Virus Software and keep it up to date.
4. When not using your system, disconnect from the internet, use hibernation or shut your computer off.
|
