It's October 22 today. A completely random date in the grand scheme of things (we Dutch lost a big naval battle to the Ming dynasty on October 22 1633), but it also happens to be the release date of the newest version of Windows - Windows 7. Since Windows is still the most popular desktop operating system out there, this is pretty big news.
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Member since:2006-01-04
Things can simply be insecure. What a concept!
(Like the linked article said.)
But if you want: The default install of Windows 7 is insecure compared to Vista, Linux, OpenSolaris, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, DragonBSD and OSX (and a few others.)
BECAUSE every program the user runs can effectivly gain admin right without any problems (read Thoms article again if you think that is just "a hair less".
( Better read it twice. Just to be sure. ))
Edit: And they didn't really fix anything. The better tech journalists still tell people about the security flaw and advise people to set UAC to the highest setting.
Edited 2009-10-22 15:36 UTC
Member since:2005-08-11
(Like the linked article said.)
But if you want: The default install of Windows 7 is insecure compared to Vista, Linux, OpenSolaris, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD, DragonBSD and OSX (and a few others.)
BECAUSE every program the user runs can effectivly gain admin right without any problems (read Thoms article again if you think that is just "a hair less".
( Better read it twice. Just to be sure. ))
I use FreeBSD, and Linux, and for most users, they are non-starters (takes too long to get a BSD system into a workable desktop) OS X is safer, not really more secure. No normal user would even know where to begin with OpenSolaris, and Vista was universally panned by users and critics. Sometimes tradeoffs are made,a nd for the right reasons. People complained about UAC, that's a fact.
Windows 7 is almost universally claimed to be the "Vista that should have been", so what we lose with this little insecurity (mitigated from the RC going forward) we gain in a much more usable desktop.
Member since:2005-07-06
I'm confused. Does your post say that everything people are raving about in this thread is wrong? It appears from your posted article that they've set flags to warn of any such program gaining elevated privileges. Sounds like a giant flag you got malware if its trying to change your UAC level. I'm satisfied with this patch if its in windows gold code?
Member since:
2005-08-11
Then insecure compared to what? Vista? OpenBSD (of course, but much more usable) XP? OS X? Perhaps we wouldn't have to put words into your mouth if you actually said something useful. Oh, and they made changes in the RC and RTM to mitigate the flaw.
I can call Linux insecure too, and give no comparisons, no valid reasons, and I would get called on it (violently) so why should you be any different? Win7 is much more secure than it's main competitor, WinXP. It's much much more secure than Win2k, and only a hair less than Vista.
MS's response after changing their mind about the flaw:
http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2009/02/05/uac-feedback-and-follow...