MSblaster Worm
Since mid-July 2003, the Department of Homeland Security and Microsoft Corporation have warned of a critical vulnerability in all of Microsoft's operation systems and informed users to get a patch from Microsoft's website to fix it. As of Monday August 11th, a worm has taken advantage of the security flaw and affected tens of thousands of mainly home computer users.
I like many others read the warnings and went to Microsoft's homepage to get the patch. The problem is FINDING IT on Microsoft's homepage. I spent 1/2 hour trying to find the patch for this critical security flaw and only could find a page that listed 45+ fixes recommended by Microsoft, most of which required other patches to be loaded first. Instead of finding and being able to install the needed patch, I was presented with a jigsaw-puzzle of patches and fixes and it was not clear if ANY of them were intended to fix the critical security flaw. It is no surprise to me that tens of thousands of users have not installed the security patch. Microsoft appears to be playing a game of public-relations - claiming the necessary patch is available on their website, but placing the patch in as obscure a place on their site so as to not 'advertise' how flawed the software they sell is!
Microsoft needs to 'can' the public-relations crap and get serious about testing software BEFORE it is released and place PROMINENT links on their website to specific patches for specific announced vulnerabilities. With the Linux OS becoming more prominent and user interfaces becoming more 'windows/apple' like, Microsoft may well generate a backlash and find its OS' on the junk heap of obsolete technology.
08/13/03 ( 303 )
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