Michael Collette wrote: >... > Mind you, I don't believe that the interaction between apps is where > Microsoft messed up with security. Their biggest sin was in bundling > their Internet apps so closely to the OS.
I assume by `bundling' you mean `integrating', since they're different issues. Integrating Internet access with the rest of the operating environment makes a great deal of sense; many of Mozilla's usability problems come from having not *enough* integration with the OS. > They don't differentiate > between a .exe clicked on from an E-Mail to one that was clicked on > from the desktop as they both look to the same place to find what to > do. Whenever you transfer an executable from one computer to another, you're going to have a risk. All an e-mail program can do is make it more or less difficult to get from the point where you receive the file to the point where you run it. That's a slider with `Dangerous' at one end and `Infuriating' at the other. The main cause of the problem is mixing code and data in the same file, such that (for example) MS Word documents can contain executable macros, and some kinds of document (such as presentations) are occasionally distributed as executables. A partial but significant solution would be to make the operating system and microchip markets diverse enough that for any sender, it is more likely that a recipient will be using a different OS/architecture than that they will be using the same OS/architecture. Then, the whole idea of e-mailing executable files will become stupid (since the executables usually won't work), and complete bans on it will be more acceptable. Of course, that still doesn't stop the cross-platform macro and script viruses. > I also think that this is going to eventually come around and bite KDE > in the butt. The web browser and file manager really should keep > their own associations. >... I don't see why that is the case. Having multiple sets of associations is just annoying, resulting in more work and confusion for the user. Anyway, if code and data are kept separate, executables shouldn't have associations in the first place. -- Matthew `mpt' Thomas, Mozilla UI Design component default assignee thing <http://mpt.phrasewise.com/>
