[ale] [OT and sorry] - M$ patches and security advice?

[Frank Zamenski]

> On Thursday 11 September 2003 21:20, Frank Zamenski wrote:
> 
> > If the ver is Win2K SP3 (or maybe it is SP4?), it has a slightly
> > different gimmick (it was added with one of those later SPs): like 
Win
> > eXtra Poo does now, it encourages you with this damn annoying info
> > ballon you see on your lower-right desktop shortly after logging in
> > (which you can NOT disable) to set up auto-update. It is said that 
by
> > enabling that, the OS will then do all this update nonsense for you 
in
> > the background, doing gawd only knows what to the PC. Can't say I
> > recommend it.
> 
> Frank this is not directed at you in particular.
> 

Well, I know I didn't take anything personally. :)

> I need to clear up some apparent misconceptions about how the Windows 
> Update process works. If it sounds like I am defending MS, then so be 
it. 
..snip excellent advice..

Everything you said makes complete sense, and anyone that uses Winbloze 
*should* do its updates. Like voting: vote once, vote often! ;) But 
you're preaching to the choir here, Johnathan. I patch my Winbloze, 
Solaris, and Linux stuff regularly, and as for the Msft crap, I was 
giving Jenn some specifics, albeit in a light-hearted manner. It's just 
the way I view Win... yeah, make it as secure as possible indeed, but, 
it is also just a throw-away 'toy'.

Yet, I still would never *ever* let *any* version of that OS 
automatically do it's updates for me, as I want to know what is going 
on at all times when I'm updating my 'toy', in case something goes 
wrong along the way (not that'd there be much I could do about it, 
eh?). But I'm pessimistic about how to get the general, casual Msft 
computer user population to take security seriously. All the add on 
security sw is just too difficult for most users, the same ppl that 
don't keep their virus defs up to date either. Nope, security for all 
isn't going to happen unless someone creates an easy addon 'black box' 
f/w solution, that can, say, be periodically auto-flashed faster than 
any Msft security patch can be installed (Linksys routers come close). 
And even then, I wouldn't hold my breath. (Who here said "we're 
doomed"?)

Thanks.
-fgz

> Jonathan Rickman
> Key ID: 0DF501FF
>