more on Microsoft responds re Windows XP update vs. spyware

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: John BARTAS <Jbartas () speakeasy net>
Date: June 8, 2006 2:45:04 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: [IP] more on Microsoft responds re Windows XP update vs.  
spyware

Dave:

For IP, if it's not too off-topic:
--------------------
   I'm a sometime attendee at the Silicon Valley SDForum security  
Sig, a monthly meeting of computer security professionals -  
researchers, consultants and IT folks. (Great event, link below) At  
the beginning of each meeting,the organizers review what's news in  
computer security, and what current best security practices are. One  
ongoing recommendation is to make sure your Windows patches are current.

   About a year back one participant volunteered that he found the  
Windows updates to actually be destabilizing to his windows systems -  
that once he has a Windows system working decently, he disables the  
auto-updates; and relies on third part security software instead of  
patches. I chimed in "me too", as did several others.

   The facilitator called for a show of hands - how many of the  
seventy or so computer security experts present allowed Windows auto- 
updates on their systems, and how many did not. About 90% did not.
    Like Bob Rosenberg, I had heard about XP's phone home "feature"  
when it first came out. I keep a home network monitoring tool on my  
nets that logs every IP site visited, and the XP->Microsoft packets  
stood right out. I let it do it's thing until the first time it  
trashed my system. I then blocked it - Not just "turned it off", but  
blocked the IP address and domain name in my hardware  firewall.

   So far there have been no ill effects. The two XP systems I had  
when I started blocking each ran for over two years. Never had a  
virus, never got "Windows bloat", where the system gets slower with  
age. A few times the XP laptop I had tried to update when I took it  
traveling and forgot to turn on the software firewall. I think an  
IPv6 stack got activated that way.

   Last year I replaced my laptop, and the new one had a newer XP.  
Since it was stable, I again blocked the phone home. So far,so good.

   I'm not in a huge hurry to dump windows. I just want a system  
that works. Windows 2K is close enough - it only crashes about  once  
a month. But because of Microsoft's hubris about giving the customer  
what Microsoft wants (this phone home is IMO spyware) rather than  
what the customer wants, I've simultaneously been alert for for  
alternatives. I'm now using Linux (Currently Ubuntu) for some  
software development, multimedia, and web browsing. OpenOffice 1.1.3  
is finally ready for prime time, and now does all my text &  
spreadsheet work, even on my new XP laptop. There are still nits  
(someday I'll code a word count feature for OpenDocument), but the  
only reason I still have XP is because 1) the laptop came with it,  
and 2) my kids love "The Sims".

   I don't mind paying $50 or so for a decent OS, but the idea of  
"renting" software that tells me what I can and cannot do is  
abhorrent. Does anyone know if "Win4Lin" runs the Sims?

-JB-

SDforum link:
http://www.sdforum.org/SDForum/Templates/Level1.aspx?pid=10111&sid=7




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