__/ [ Gaz ] on Sunday 16 July 2006 12:29 \__
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> As you may know, Microsoft has ended its support for Windows 98. To quote
>> an
>> article from yesterday:
>>
>
> Considering most users have not downloaded a single windows update to their
> win98 system since they bought it, why should we be concerned now?
>
> Win98se is an excellent programme, only bettered on x86 by Microsofts own
> successors. Maybe in another few years linux will have the same level of
> compatibility and ease of use as a home operating system, that win98se had.
I agree. Windows 98 SE was the last Windows system that I
used and most people refuse to patch it. /However/, let's
change the goalposts and speak of the many XP machines out
there, which after 5 years of 'maturity', continue to be
insecure. The flaw /du jour/ is not going to stop even when
Vista is released. An incentive must be put forward in order
for Microsoft to redesign their O/S until it is secure. They
should not release something that can so easily be used to
attack other residents of the shared network.
The project leader of Windows, Jim Allchin, said some time
ago that 60% of the code in Vista needs to be re-written. So
here we have another semi-baked O/S released onto the
public. It will continue to be compromised and attack the
Web. So what gives? I want to see change. Or else, with the
rise in 'rotten' traffic, brute force will beats people
ability to carry out work.
> What would be decent of MS, would be to now release win98se into the public
> domain.
This was suggested elsewhere. Disclose the source so that
independent develops can patch the system for themselves.
And it /does/ need patching. There is at least one known
(and unpatched) flaw that allows virtually 70 million
computers to be hijacked. There is no remedy and the upgrade
require new hardware.
> Gaz
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