-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 ***^\ ."_)~~ ~( __ _"o Was another beautiful day, Tue, 14 Sep 2004, @ @ at 21:06:18 -0400, when Chris wrote:
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] @ 2004-Sep-14 1:37:31 PM > "upgrading" > <mid:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> 2. For similar reasons I have not yet installed Microsoft's SP2. (I >> once installed SP1, only to uninstall it after it slowed my pc down >> to a crawl.) However, is SP2 compatible with The Bat ver. 1.62r or, >> should I upgrade to ver. 3.0 if I intend to install SP2? > I have actually noticed a speed increase, especially when working with > network file systems, with SP2. And, yes, The Bat! 2 and 3 work with > SP2. An insteresting (I hope) addition for XP users, and the quality of SP2, by Bruce Schneier. <http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-0406.html> Microsoft and SP2 ***************** The security of your computer and your network depends on two things: what you do to secure your computer and network, and what everyone else does to secure their computers and networks. It's not enough for you to maintain a secure network. If everybody else doesn't maintain their security, we're all more vulnerable to attack. When there are lots of insecure computers connected to the Internet, worms spread faster and more extensively, distributed denial-of-service attacks are easier to launch, and spammers have more platforms from which to send e-mail. The more insecure the average computer on the Internet is, the more insecure your computer is. It's like malaria: everyone is safer when we all work together to drain the swamps and increase the level of hygiene in our community. This is the backdrop from which to understand Microsoft's Windows XP security upgrade: Service Pack 2. SP2 is a major security upgrade. It includes features like Windows Firewall, an enhanced personal firewall that is turned on by default, and a better automatic patching feature. It includes a bunch of small security improvements. It makes Windows XP more secure. In early May, stories were written saying that Microsoft would make this upgrade available to all XP users, both licensed and unlicensed. To me, this was a very smart move on Microsoft's part. Think about all the ways it benefits Microsoft. One, its licensed users are more secure. Two, its licensed users are happier. Three, worms that attack Microsoft products are less virulent, which means Microsoft doesn't look as bad in the press. Microsoft wins, Microsoft's customers win, the Internet wins. It's the kind of marketing move that businessmen write best-selling books about. Sadly, the press was wrong. Soon after, Microsoft said the initial comments were wrong, and that SP2 would not run on pirated copies of XP. Those copies would not be upgradeable, and would remain insecure. Only legal copies of the software could be secured. This is the wrong decision, for all the same reasons that the opposite decision was the correct one. Of course, Microsoft is within its rights to deny service to those who have pirated its products. It makes sense for them to make sure performance or feature upgrades do not run on pirated software. They want to deny people who haven't paid for Microsoft products the benefit of them, and entice them to become licensed users. But security upgrades are different. Microsoft is harming its licensed users by denying security to its unlicensed users. This decision, more than anything else Microsoft has said or done in the last few years, proves to me that security is not the first priority of the company. Here was a chance to do the right thing: to put security ahead of profits. Here was a chance to look good in the press, and improve security for all their users worldwide. Microsoft claims that improving security is the most important thing, but their actions prove otherwise. SP2 is an important security upgrade to Windows XP, and I hope it is widely installed among licensed XP users. I also hope it is quickly pirated, so unlicensed XP users can also install it. In order for me to remain secure on the Internet, I need everyone to become more secure. And the more people who install SP2, the more we all benefit. - -- Mica PGP key uploaded at: <http://pgp.mit.edu/> once just before breakfast [Earth LOG: 14 day(s) since v3.0 unleashing] -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- iD8DBQFBSCKx9q62QPd3XuIRAmwsAJ9zSA0W0iXRw4BDKuBPm43MbnJ5OACcCwtD brlViRB+mlfBUgixHrFANt8= =9Q6F -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ________________________________________________ Current version is 3.00.00 | 'Using TBUDL' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
