OSNews > Thread > "RE[3]: Bottom Line" by Wrawrat

Vista's Security Rendered Completely Useless By New Exploit

Linked by Amjith Ramanujam on Fri 8th Aug 2008 13:14 UTC

This week at the Black Hat Security Conference two security researchers will discuss their findings which could completely bring Windows Vista to its knees. According to Dino Dai Zovi, a popular security researcher, "the genius of this is that it's completely reusable. They have attacks that let them load chosen content to a chosen location with chosen permissions. That's completely game over."

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RE[3]: Bottom Line

by Wrawrat on Fri 8th Aug 2008 16:28 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: Bottom Line"

Member since:
2005-06-30

For those who believe Windows to be a multi-user system at the core, log into you Windows box twice as the same user - i.e., run two simultaneous sessions as the same user. Are you there yet? Even different users being logged in at the same time is done with "fast-user switching".

It's an intentional limitation in the customer versions of Windows. Windows Server can easily host multiple sessions with Terminal Services.

The multi-user architecture is definitely there. It's quite misused though.

The current web-connected computer was not envisioned when it was created. Meanwhile, Unix was serving 1000's of simultaneous user sessions on a single box.

I am looking for the day when that single box hosts so many connections with fully-featured GUIs. Joe Sixpack doesn't want to work with consoles.

Reply Parent Bookmark Score: 5

RE[4]: Bottom Line

by eantoranz on Fri 8th Aug 2008 20:51 in reply to "RE[3]: Bottom Line"

Member since:
2005-12-18

I am looking for the day when that single box hosts so many connections with fully-featured GUIs. Joe Sixpack doesn't want to work with consoles.

Sorry to disappoint you, man... but this is pretty old news: http://linuxgazette.net/124/smith.html

Reply Parent Bookmark Score: 6

RE[4]: Bottom Line

by Windows Sucks on Fri 8th Aug 2008 20:56 in reply to "RE[3]: Bottom Line"

Member since:
2005-11-10

I am looking for the day when that single box hosts so many connections with fully-featured GUIs. Joe Sixpack doesn't want to work with consoles.

Actually if you remote access a Unix or Linux server you can then use X (You can use x11vnc)

So yes if your Linux server or Unix server can handle it you could run 1000 copies of Gnome or KDE as users. Its how the Linux terminal server project works.

Oh and you don't have to pay for a ton of licenses to do that (Unlike you do in Windows)

Reply Parent Bookmark Score: 4

RE[4]: Bottom Line

by lemur2 on Sat 9th Aug 2008 06:38 in reply to "RE[3]: Bottom Line"

Member since:
2007-02-17

Another designed-in limitation of Windows ... you can't have more than one user simultaneously logged-in, even though the OS is designed to support it, because ... Microsoft wants to charge you a bootload more money for the same code if you want multiple users logged in?

Typical.

What a rip-off.

Most OSes have been true multi-user for forty years or more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multics

Reply Parent Bookmark Score: 2

RE[4]: Bottom Line (OT)

by gilboa on Sat 9th Aug 2008 12:54 in reply to "RE[3]: Bottom Line"

Member since:
2005-07-06

I am looking for the day when that single box hosts so many connections with fully-featured GUIs. Joe Sixpack doesn't want to work with consoles.

Uh?

I've got ~10 active VNC sessions and ~10-20 active X connections on a single 2x2 Opteron machine.
The VNC desktops are running KDE and GNOME. (Depending on user preference).
Oh... and the sessions are being used for software development - read: people write code, compile and debug on this machine simultaneously.

We tried the same on the same machine with 2K3 terminal and the results were abysmal.

- Gilboa

Edited 2008-08-09 12:55 UTC

Reply Parent Bookmark Score: 3