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Posted in Free/Libre Software, FUD, Microsoft, Security, Windows at 8:56 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Security propaganda from Microsoft tackled yet again in light of this week’s security FUD against Free software
AS WE showed two years ago, Microsoft knowingly hides security problems in its software and sometimes fixes these problems without reporting it to the public. It can be very frequent a routine. This way, when outsiders compare the number of security problems across different products/vendors, they merely compare apples and oranges (Red Hat and Firefox are popular victims of such disinformation). Microsoft is cheating.
Earlier this week Slashdot revealed that Microsoft’s attitude when it comes to security of its on-line services is more or less the same. To make matters worse, Microsoft is trying to gag those who know the truth. From Slashdot’s summary:
=> ↺ trying to gag those who know the truth
Microsoft Tries To Censor Bing VulnerabilityMicrosoft’s bing search engine has a vulnerability with its cash-back promotion, which impacts both merchants and customers. In traditional Microsoft fashion, the company has responded to the author of the breaking bing cashback expoit with a cease & desist letter, rather than by fixing the underlying security problem.
Here is the original post.
The purpose of my post was to show an implementation problem, not to encourage defrauding Microsoft. I am surprised they would go through this much trouble to make me take down information that is obvious to anyone reading their documentation. I don’t like dealing with lawyers, so I’ve decided to comply with their request. The post is gone. I will still write a “non-technical” post on all the problems I see with Bing Cashback in the next few days.
The reason why hundreds of millions of Windows PCs are zombies is not just because of negligent users; it’s also because of a company that puts its image and its profits before the safety of computer users. It would shamelessly lie to the public as long as its shareholders’ interests are obeyed. Suffice to say, Free software does not have the same inherent deficiency which is a conflict of interests (honesty versus selfishness). Apache is a good example of this.
=> hundreds of millions of Windows PCs are zombies
According to The Register, botmasters have found new ways of sending instructions to Windows zombies. It’s not the fault of Google, which merely stores arbitrary strings of texts like many other services.
=> ↺ botmasters have found new ways of sending instructions to Windows zombies
Cyber criminals’ love affair with cloud computing just got steamier with the discovery that Google’s AppEngine was tapped to act as the master control channel that feeds commands to large networks of infected computers.
Sadly enough, we are all left at a dangerous state where cyberwar is said to be imminent, with hordes of Windows zombies recruited to such a task.
=> ↺ a dangerous state | ↺ cyberwar is said to be imminent
CBS News reports that cyber war is a reality that, according to cyber experts, the US will have to be prepared for – and soon.
It is worth adding that the US presidency now has the legal power to shut off the Internet and physical bombing of botmasters is one of the proposed strategies shall disaster strike.
=> one of the proposed strategies
“Security — including national security — must never be put in proprietary hands.”What does Microsoft do about this? It serves the interests of shareholders, which means pretending that Windows (and other Microsoft products) is secure, even by fabrication and outright lies. Security — including national security — must never be put in proprietary hands. It is a recipe for disaster.
One of our readers, pointing to this old gem about password encryption, remarks: “It’s pathetic to see how much Gates has been able to hold back computing. His current antics are not new. However, now his antics involve much more outsourced marketing and tremendous investment in lobbying firms.” █
=> ↺ old gem about password encryption
Related posts:
Cybercrime Rises and Vista 7 is Already Open to HijackersVista 7: Broken Apart Before ArrivalDepartment of Homeland Security ‘Poisoned’ by Microsoft; Vista 7 is Open to Hijackers AgainVista 7 Security “Cannot be Fixed. It’s a Design Problem.”Why Vista 7 Could be the Least Secure Operating System EverJournalists Suggest Banning Windows, Maybe Suing Microsoft Over DDoS AttacksVista 7 Vulnerable to Latest “Critical” FlawsVista 7 Seemingly Affected by Several More “Critical” Flaws This MonthReason #1 to Avoid Vista 7: InsecurityVista 7 Left Hijackable Again (Almost a Monthly Recurrence)Vista 7 as Insecure as Predecessors, Shows SophosMicrosoft, Novell, SCO, and NASDAQ Delistings
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