*gets on Windows Update soapbox*

[sarea]

Okay. I feel I need to share this, given how many people I know have been affected by the latest virus. I was not affected, on any of my machines, because I'm always up to date with my security patches. And the reason why that is, is this nifty little tool called Windows Update. If installed, it exists in the background of your machine, and when Microsoft releases a critical security patch, it automatically downloads it, and depending on your preference, will either prompt you to install it, or will do so automatically. I know that it's been around at least since Windows 2000, and I've never understood why people didn't install it/use it, as it's extremely helpful in keeping my machines patched for all security fixes, long before any virus can create havoc (it's not the be-all, end-all, of course; you should always be careful when dealing with unknown executables). Microsoft is very good about releasing patches to prevent (or solve) security concerns when they find them, but obviously, people have to download them for them to do any good.

I'm not sure how to install the Windows Update tool if you don't already have it on your machine (there should be a way to activiate it -- I can get to it by clicking Start-->All Programs-->Windows Update), but you can also always manually find patches by going to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ -- it will scan your machine and list all of the critical security patches that you should download. (It will also list other patches that are not critical in nature, and you can decide whether or not you want to install those.) I'd recommend that everyone go there now to make sure that you don't have any other security holes in your machine(s), and then find a way to download the Windows Update tool.

Then, as long as you don't execute random files that you get in email or off the Web, you can enjoy a nice, virus-free computing experience. : )

Comments

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

It's true. That's why I'm hoping their Trustworthy Computing initiative will actually make a difference. Though I do wonder if, in a product with millions of lines of code, whether it's truly possible to get all bugs out. I'm a total pessimist.

[akscully.livejournal.com]

It may have millions of lines of code, but it's assy code. We looked at some of the stuff in college and it made me cry. Our classes found tons of mistakes and inefficiencies in the code. Is it to be expected? Sure, to some degree. Programmers make mistakes. But when kids who have never coded before can see problems with dropped references, code that should have been deleted when an update occured and loops that would spiral on to infinity...it was sad, sad, sad.

It's not possible to get all the bugs out. There's always going to be something. My pessimism lies in the company itself. Trustworthy Computing or not, they release these crappy products because they can. They eat up smaller companies that show any sign of competing with them and try to shoehorn thier products into Windows and it never works. You just get a big piece of crap. The only option is going over to Macs and god, don't even get me started on that. Mas has their own set of problems to deal with.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Really? As far as I know, Microsoft has never released any of its code. In fact, that's one of the suggested remedies resulting from the DOJ trial. I don't want to defend MS, but the reality is that it has a ton of enemies. People hate it blindly (with or without good reason). It would not surprise me in the least if someone were to pass off something claiming it's MS when it's not. I mean ... think about it -- when someone trashes MS there's zero question about it. Oh, MS did that? Sure, I believe it. People will believe, regardless of fact. That's not to say that what you saw wasn't MS code, either, but ... again, I have a LOT of cynicism wrt both sides.

No question putting out a crappy product sucks ... but I suppose I'm just glad that they acknowledge these shortcomings and there's a way to install fixes rather than them going, well, you're SOL, see you later.

[akscully.livejournal.com]

Well, the professor who gave to us was sort of crazy and did tell us that we couldn't copy anything down or tell the adminstrators about this. So it is entirely possible that what we were looking at was either fake, or you know, not entirely legal.

*cough*

Attention college adminstrators! Nothing happened that day! Move along.

And I understand that MS hate does blind people to logic. I get that MS is a company and a publicly owned one at that and has to do what's best for its employees and shareholders; I just think that the way they're going about it is monumentally stupid. In the long run, it's going to hurt more than it helps. They're stamping out potential avenues of innovation that could help them put out a better product that's more efficient, would allow for better security and easier to fix when the inevitable problems do pop up.