Re: Fwd: SF new column announcement: Microsoft Anti-Spyware?

[Christos Triantafyllidis <ctria () physics auth gr>]

Caeser Augustus wrote:
> 1) The average user : feels good about security but is confronted by a
> learning curve. Whatever it is, but I'm sure that an information bar
> is easier to configure than a hosts file.
Average user feel good about security but... is he? think about this 
user when he find out that he is not secured.
> 2) The IT guys shout: "Don't install it".
They should shout "DON'T INSTALL IT, or YOU will be responsible for 
whatever happens"
>    - It breaks stuff.
Doesn't it? There are numerous of lists about incompatibilities with 
SP2. And think about resources that are being used by this new "feature".
>    - It's got security issues( My companies IT policy )
Actually less than SP1 but still enough :)
>    - Not stable.
I tried to remove it. my PC had nice blue screens at normal-safemode logon
> 3) The crackers: It's got holes: it's exploitable. I think: off
> course. Everything is. Including the Linux Kernel. That's what makes
> this field fun.
The basic difference is that patches for Linux Kernel are made by the 
time that there is a suspition about an exploit in it.
Patches on Windows are developed after the exploit has been developed 
and used... (Fun ?)

Basic problem with MS products is that there is no "current" tree.
Think about making a clean installation. Even if we assume that you have 
a SP2 intergrated CD, you still have to do live update to be updated. 
and the worst? you do windows update, you update everything but you need 
to reboot and after that check if there is any patch for the patches you 
just installed!!!

Christos Triantafyllidis

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