full-disclosure - Who's to blame for malicious code?

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Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.43.0401210926410.24922-100000@tundra.winternet.com>
From: dufresne at winternet.com (Ron DuFresne)
Subject: Who's to blame for malicious code?

	[SNIP]

>
> Would you blame OpenBSD if a user got hacked because he hadn't bothered to
> patch?
>
> I'm not arguing that Microsoft has done the right thing or even that their
> OS is secure.  (It isn't, and I refuse to use it as a server unless forced
> to.  I prefer to use FreeBSD whenever possible.)  I'm arguing that you
> can't blame Microsoft for malicious code that takes advantage of weaknesses
> for which they have already issued patches, sometimes 12 months in advance
> of an outbreak.  *That* is a problem directly attributable to users.
>
> What you're trying to argue is that, if OS vendors would simply do the
> right thing from the start, users would be protected despite their lack of
> patching, and I am saying that is preposterous.  *No* OS is so secure that
> you can simply leave it on the Internet, never patch it, and still be
> secure.
>

Wasn't it  you that  made the argument during the msblaster episode that
patching was a dead horse, that most env's of  significatnly sized
userbase were understaffed for the NUMEROUS patches that faced windows
admins at the time and  cuurrently?  <perhaps I'm thinking it was you and
in fact it was someone else>  Either the arguement was false then and
windows admins were and remain just plain lazy, or the argument was/is
true and there's a problem within the core  OS offered up from redmond...

Thanks,

Ron DuFresne
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Cutting the space budget really restores my faith in humanity.  It
eliminates dreams, goals, and ideals and lets us get straight to the
business of hate, debauchery, and self-annihilation." -- Johnny Hart
	***testing, only testing, and damn good at it too!***

OK, so you're a Ph.D.  Just don't touch anything.