Microsoft is banking on enhancements to what it has dubbed the fundamentals to entice enterprises to upgrade to the next version of Windows, known as Vista. The company will use upcoming industry shows to sing the praises of improvements to the Windows networking stack and secure networking techniques such as server and domain isolation to sell both Vista and Longhorn, the planned update to Windows Server.
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Member since:"Cracking a Windows box to get administrator privileges is so easy people don't want to believe it."
I bet you can't do it.
And let's not forget that a lot of this is based on historical problems with Windows. And if you want to compare history, well, Linux has a rather embarassing history itself. It wasn't that long ago that most Linux distros had tons of services enabled by default with no firewalls, and the average Linux out of the box install could be rooted in about 5 to 10 minutes by someone who knew what they were doing.
Member since:2005-10-02
The first one: Depends on how well the system is protected. A standard XP is easy to get control over. But you really should update such a system 
The second one: I've never tried a Linux distro without firewall enabled. The only embarassing linux distros are the Linspire like systems.
Again: Come forth with links to information about these embarrasing situations, and the names of all the many (non-existent) linux distributions shipped with all kind of services turned on and no firewall.
Come on. 6 years ago firewall was standard in all major linux distributions and many smaller ones as well.
I've never hard of a linux system without a firewall. It would be insane (besides that a firewall isn't really needed on linux in the same way as on Windows - unless you are running web services of course).
Member since:I would like to see those statistics. Any links?
I suspect you'd fine those links lead to their butt.
("pulling numbers out of your arse").
Making unbacked statements about one OS being easily compromised over another is no better than being a writer for Marie Clare or Cosmopoliton, with tips of "how to get your partner excited in bed".
Have they taken into consideration that worms have unrestricted access on most Windows boxes because most people are running with admin-privileges?
That's one thing Windows boxes have a problem with, once you compromise them, you get the whole box.
This isn't necessarily true for *nix/BSD/Solaris solutions. You may be able to break it, but there maybe restrictions in place that limit the damage one can do.
Its not what Microsoft says with their PR machine or their trolls that hang out in forums and such...Its what it does. And so far, their security in an overall view, just plain sucks. Their solutions involve "band-aids" to problems. Not actual solutions.
Put it in this context, would you bet your life on a Microsoft solution? If MS developed a jet engine and a digital flight control system, would you sit in that plane?
If you think that way, then you can easily be immune to the PR coming out of Microsoft.
If you do some serious digging, you'd see even Microsoft use Solaris and FreeBSD in some of their critical infrastructure. So what does that say of how trusting is MS of their own products?
(If Windows is really that great, wouldn't the company be using its products for its entire network? How come people just accept what they're given? How come they can't be sold a good SOLID product?)
Microsoft needs to make Vista sell. So they're pulling out all the stops. Its really unfortunate that in this day and age a company like Microsoft can now rely on so -called "tech journalists" to do their advertising for them. About 90% of people will believe them without questioning anything. The other 10% sit back, laugh, and point out the BS being advertised.
(This is no different from Terrorists using Al-Jazzea news services to get their message across).
Not to mention the fact that the US Govt helps them...Think I'm kidding? I'm amazed that MS has connections so high up in the US, that they can request another country conducting an anti-trust case against them to "back off". (US Govt telling South Korea to lay off Microsoft...As if that doesn't raise curiosity!)
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is...Don't believe anything Microsoft says, especially in the security department. You don't know what they've done under there, that could warrant such PR statements.
Use the "I believe it, when I can see it" approach.
They can say whatever they want, if they don't deliver, well, that becomes a story.
So at this time, just act like their talking to a brick wall. 
Member since:2005-10-02
If MS developed a jet engine and a digital flight control system, would you sit in that plane?
Nooooo... I'm too young to die. I prefer my own gentoo-based plane. And the good part is: It can even read and write the MS plane systems, so it can communicate with them - without being compromised [read: captive-ntfs :p ]
I never believe Microsoft just like that. One has to pick their sentences apart, read between the lines, and compare their statements with earlier statements and earlier behaviour.
Member since:
2005-10-02
I would like to see those statistics. Any links?
Could be interesting to see how they have defined the different categories.
Have they taken into consideration that worms have unrestricted access on most Windows boxes because most people are running with admin-privileges?
Cracking a Windows box to get administrator privileges is so easy people don't want to believe it.
Cracking a Linux box is a lot more difficult. But perhaps the statistics were created on basis of Linspire?