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AndreiVoinigescuFirstPaper 10 - 11 Apr 2009 - Main.JonathanBonilla
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Making Microsoft Pay for Windows' Shoddy Security | | | The point of all of this isn't to give Microsoft its just deserts. If a lawsuit succeeds in forcing them to internalize some of the costs of combating malware, those costs will only be passed on to the consumer. A higher price for Windows might encourage free software adoption, but I suspect the effect will be marginal; most consumers are not aware of the true cost of a Windows license because the cost is folded into the price of new hardware. Hopefully, however, a credible threat of class action litigation will convince more software vendors to abandon attempts at security through obscurity, and to democratize the patching of vulnerabilities. Holding software vendors liable for negligent security practices should go a long way towards securing both the network and the devices attached to it. It may also ensure that the knowledge embodied in the source code is available to any mind curious enough to learn it, and that the inner workings of the technology regulating greater and greater portions of our lives remain transparent. | |
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Perhaps a minor first point, but I think linking to a blog that makes fun of the Conficker "threat" is hardly the way to establish that it is in fact a threat.
For substance, I'm curious as to how you would respond to the argument that when Windows is used "as directed," namely with Windows Defender active, Auto-updates, third-party virus scan, Windows Firewall, and User Account Control ... that the threat of virus / spyware infection is quite minimal. (Indeed, in Vista various warnings will now be provided if these systems are disabled, thus reducing the mystery behind keeping one's system safe, though earlier versions did not have such warning)
It seems, to me at least, that smart computing has a large effect on whether a PC is able to avoid being turned into a zombie, either by running recommended security measures (as listed above), or by not running random .exe files sent by strangers, with the subject line "ILOVEYOU."
-- JonathanBonilla - 11 Apr 2009 | | | |
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