Tuesday, August 26, 2003

Computerworld, 8/25/03:  Microsoft explores automatic patching Company wants to get critical updates on more systems Story by Joris Evers AUGUST 22, 2003 ( IDG NEWS SERVICE ) - In the wake of a widespread Internet worm, Microsoft Corp. is weighing options to get more users to secure their computers, including automatically applying security patches to PCs remotely, the company said. "We are looking at a range of options to get critical updates on more systems, from finding ways to encourage more people to keep their systems up to date themselves to where it is done automatically by default for certain users," said Matt Pilla, senior product manager for Windows at Microsoft. [more] 7:39:04 AM     Computerworld, 8/25/03:  Microsoft, users cope with worms' chaos Top execs, rank and file pitch in to handle onslaught of calls Story by Carol Sliwa AUGUST 25, 2003 ( COMPUTERWORLD ) - REDMOND, Wash. -- The voice you heard at the other end of a customer service call to Microsoft Corp. during the past two weeks may not have belonged to one of the 4,500 specialists who are paid to do that job. Even top executives pitched in to answer phones after an "all hands on deck" call went out to product teams on Aug. 12, a day after the W32.Blaster worm began afflicting the computers of companies and home users that hadn't applied a patch for the Windows vulnerability being exploited. [more] 7:38:44 AM     Microsoft Computerworld, 8/25/03:  Why Windows Should Think Small Opinion by Robert L. Mitchell AUGUST 25, 2003 ( COMPUTERWORLD ) - Years of frustrating experiences dealing with Windows systems once led me to the conclusion that any Windows installation, over time, will inevitably move toward increasing randomness and disorder. This phenomenon -- call it Wintropy -- is less visible today because new versions of Windows do a better job of preventing complete system crashes. Problems still lurk, such as those pesky programs and patches that won't work correctly or that create conflicts and then won't uninstall cleanly. Or the legacy hardware and software that "kind of" runs, if you can just put up with a few quirks. Windows is certainly more reliable today. But with its tens of millions of lines of code and the continual piling on of new features, applets and services, Windows may finally have gotten too big for its own good. I used to think that the bloated operating system would eventually implode under its own weight. Instead, the attackers who have been exploiting a seemingly endless supply of vulnerabilities appear to be taking it apart from the outside. [more] 7:38:17 AM

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