Windows Security Praised

[nsane.forums]

Think Windows is insecure? You're wrong, says security firm Kaspersky.

Conventional wisdom has it that Windows and products from Microsoft are extremely unsafe, easy targets for hackers. That conventional wisdom is wrong, according to security firm Kaspersky Lab's recent quarterly malware report, which found not a single Microsoft-related threat in the top ten. The Kapersky Lab quarterly report has this to say about Microsoft products:

For the very first time in its history, the top 10 rating of vulnerabilities includes products from just two companies: Adobe and Oracle (Java), with seven of those 10 vulnerabilities being found in Adobe Flash Player alone. Microsoft products have disappeared from this ranking due to improvements in the automatic Windows update mechanism and the growing proportion of users who have Windows 7 installed on their PCs.

So if you're running Windows --- especially Windows 7 --- you don't need to worry that you're a sitting duck.

Windows blogger Ed Bott notes that at the Black Hat conference, security expert Chris Paget praised Windows security as well. Paget was hired to find security holes in Vista before it shipped, as a way to make the OS safer. She called Microsoft's security "world-leading" and said:

"Microsoft's security process is spectacular."

So if you're one of those who thinks that Windows and other Microsoft products are riddled with security holes, the message is simple: You're living in the past.

View: Original Article

[grouchysmurf]

As always, there is more than one way to interpret results.

Allow me to play devil's advocate :pos:

In the "past" windows seemed to be the main focus because let's face it,

not a whole lot of serious competition was around. Most "programs" seemed to change everyday,

so hackers were really not interested in them. They wanted to big boy on the block, and that was

Microsoft.

This gave rise to what you may ask??? Why, all of those wonderful security patches. And when those got SO BIG,

they started to call them...service packs. I mean c'mon really? Someone has been drinking the kool-aid.

Microsoft has been on the fast trak for awhile now, releasing software that it mainly relied on the world user community

to debug. Now, in a way I understand this. But speaking from an "average" user, if you want me to pay $400 bucks for an OS,

the damn thing better be bug free. I have not seen anything yet that tells me that win 7 will be any different. Service packs? Yup, you betcha.

Security updates/patches? Again, expect them.

If this were cheaper, or even an open source project, I would be on board. But since it is not, I expect more for my money.

I do not need bells and whistles and cool looking "transparent" effects, I need security and stability.

It has taken a long time to get my XP Pro to that point. Hell, they should pay me.

And in closing, I wish to give major kudos to The NewsMan for bringing us these articles. I truly enjoy them.

[DKT27]

And in closing, I wish to give major kudos to The NewsMan for bringing us these articles. I truly enjoy them.

He's very happy to hear that. :)

BTW, you should really try Windows 7, believe me, XP is blown away by Windows 7. Windows 7 is the best OS ever created. I've not paid a single penny to M$ my whole life, and I should be ashamed, why? Because Windows 7 is unbelievably outstanding.

[DeadlyVoid]

Windows 7 is amazing. Simply the best OS.

[johndoe]

just reading the title of this post, i thought it was accidentally placed here, would have been more appropriate in the Jokes and Funny Stuff section :D

[grouchysmurf]

just reading the title of this post, i thought it was accidentally placed here, would have been more appropriate in the Jokes and Funny Stuff section :D

+1 :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

BTW, you should really try Windows 7, believe me, XP is blown away by Windows 7. Windows 7 is the best OS ever created.

Hmmm, gee, I wonder when I have heard that before. Correct me if I am wrong, but has a service pak been released for win 7 already?

I've not paid a single penny to M$ my whole life, and I should be ashamed, why? Because Windows 7 is unbelievably outstanding.

:lol: I am glad that MS has not dug into your wallet. Believe me, I was p*ssed when they dug into mine. Especially since the software that I "purchased" took forever to stabilize.

[NightWalker]

And in closing, I wish to give major kudos to The NewsMan for bringing us these articles. I truly enjoy them.

He's very happy to hear that. :)

BTW, you should really try Windows 7, believe me, XP is blown away by Windows 7. Windows 7 is the best OS ever created. I've not paid a single penny to M$ my whole life, and I should be ashamed, why? Because Windows 7 is unbelievably outstanding.

Well said B)

[HX1]

BTW, you should really try Windows 7, believe me, XP is blown away by Windows 7. Windows 7 is the best OS ever created.

Hmmm, gee, I wonder when I have heard that before. Correct me if I am wrong, but has a service pak been released for win 7 already?

I've not paid a single penny to M$ my whole life, and I should be ashamed, why? Because Windows 7 is unbelievably outstanding.

:lol: I am glad that MS has not dug into your wallet. Believe me, I was p*ssed when they dug into mine. Especially since the software that I "purchased" took forever to stabilize.

Okay one point.. development cycles have changed starting with Vista.. before that you had a rickety crashing and vulnerable system.. which was constantly hacked, attacked, and infected.. a Service Pack does not always mean.. They had to overhaul it because it was junk.. no instead it can be space saving and tweaked to render the best possible results.. versus just simply working correctly.. using feedback and other environment variables things are changed and upgraded faster to stay ahead of vulnerabilities, exploits and other problems.. Hence the title of this thread.. so really it is a matter of how you coin the events and to what end..

Some say they won't use anything until after a SP has been issued.. saying it has issues.. some won't use it because of the security measures in place.. such as UAC and LSP.. some just say everything s hype without investigating it properly... Some.. some people I wonder why they use windows to begin with.. :P I mean I turn into 'Why 4 U NO.. Guy'...

ME.. I used Vista and Beta Tested it.. on the hardware which was mainstream at the time.. under-rated for the OS.. it sucked.. slow buggy.. problematic.. always asking all of this stuff about if I wanted to do.. running maintenance in the background and TaSks galore... Didn't seem to be forward thinking enough for me and still had that Little Tikes toy appearance to it.. Did not seem to really please me well enough.. I endeavored to mod it. SP1 came out and improved it.. plus I was able to tweak t to something I liked performance wise after that point and simply felt better with it.. Everything had been overhauled.. in different places and it took a minute.. BUT.. these improvement MS and people talked about were true to form... Things you sat behind XP and said, ' I wish there was a better way or they had...' instead of installing a thousand programs looking for it.. where fixed and improved..

Windows 7 Expanded that idea with even more tweaks and improvements.. and ran more efficiently with better hardware and resources management than a 12-14 year old kernel which was glitchy and hobbling along.. and been around the block MORE than a few times.. The big word here being change.. with improvements all the way across the board... So unless you are unwilling to open yourself up to new ideas and taking a step forward with the rest of the world you will... atleast take it for a trial run.. and understand it..

Just like with Vista.. it is very hard for me to sit back and let a skeptic go on about something which they refuse to even try or look into... So consider all facts down to the hardware.. supported numbers for that hardware...code.. and effort that has went into it..

I think the worst thing really is a resistance to the idea.. and the problems that come from using one environment and having it be almost the only one for that long.. understanding the ramifications properly instead of simply jumping on a bandwagon and complaining... True knowledge of why is better... IMO..

[grouchysmurf]

BTW, you should really try Windows 7, believe me, XP is blown away by Windows 7. Windows 7 is the best OS ever created.

Hmmm, gee, I wonder when I have heard that before. Correct me if I am wrong, but has a service pak been released for win 7 already?

I've not paid a single penny to M$ my whole life, and I should be ashamed, why? Because Windows 7 is unbelievably outstanding.

:lol: I am glad that MS has not dug into your wallet. Believe me, I was p*ssed when they dug into mine. Especially since the software that I "purchased" took forever to stabilize.

Okay one point.. development cycles have changed starting with Vista.. before that you had a rickety crashing and vulnerable system.. which was constantly hacked, attacked, and infected.. a Service Pack does not always mean.. They had to overhaul it because it was junk.. no instead it can be space saving and tweaked to render the best possible results.. versus just simply working correctly.. using feedback and other environment variables things are changed and upgraded faster to stay ahead of vulnerabilities, exploits and other problems.. Hence the title of this thread.. so really it is a matter of how you coin the events and to what end..

Some say they won't use anything until after a SP has been issued.. saying it has issues.. some won't use it because of the security measures in place.. such as UAC and LSP.. some just say everything s hype without investigating it properly... Some.. some people I wonder why they use windows to begin with.. :P I mean I turn into 'Why 4 U NO.. Guy'...

ME.. I used Vista and Beta Tested it.. on the hardware which was mainstream at the time.. under-rated for the OS.. it sucked.. slow buggy.. problematic.. always asking all of this stuff about if I wanted to do.. running maintenance in the background and TaSks galore... Didn't seem to be forward thinking enough for me and still had that Little Tikes toy appearance to it.. Did not seem to really please me well enough.. I endeavored to mod it. SP1 came out and improved it.. plus I was able to tweak t to something I liked performance wise after that point and simply felt better with it.. Everything had been overhauled.. in different places and it took a minute.. BUT.. these improvement MS and people talked about were true to form... Things you sat behind XP and said, ' I wish there was a better way or they had...' instead of installing a thousand programs looking for it.. where fixed and improved..

Windows 7 Expanded that idea with even more tweaks and improvements.. and ran more efficiently with better hardware and resources management than a 12-14 year old kernel which was glitchy and hobbling along.. and been around the block MORE than a few times.. The big word here being change.. with improvements all the way across the board... So unless you are unwilling to open yourself up to new ideas and taking a step forward with the rest of the world you will... atleast take it for a trial run.. and understand it..

Just like with Vista.. it is very hard for me to sit back and let a skeptic go on about something which they refuse to even try or look into... So consider all facts down to the hardware.. supported numbers for that hardware...code.. and effort that has went into it..

I think the worst thing really is a resistance to the idea.. and the problems that come from using one environment and having it be almost the only one for that long.. understanding the ramifications properly instead of simply jumping on a bandwagon and complaining... True knowledge of why is better... IMO..

Ok..maybe I need to step this back a bit.

I have EARNED the right to be critical. I have spent YEARS dealing with windows, all the way back to 3.1. I have worked in a variety of stations in the industry, (electronics), so I know a little bit of what drives the product.

Point 1: Vista should have NEVER gone to market.

Point 2: WinXP came at a time when they had supposedly worked out all the kinks, and XP was called the Super OS of the future. A couple of hundred patches and 3 paks later, (thats when mine finally hit its' smooth stride), and their promise was achieved.

'95 was sort of the learning tool. What to do, not to do, what to do better.

Keep in mind now, I, like many others, invested HUNDREDS of dollars into operating systems. My expectation is that they get it right. I understand the occasional patch, I do. Stuff happens....but the shear VOLUME of patches and their history so far is nothing to be proud of. We as customers do not have to settle for second rate product delivery.

We have every right to be critical of products we invest in.

So, since this has opened up some opinions, I ask this...when is enough enough? When will we have the ultimate "god" os? I will be honest, putting aside some specific details, one platform looks like another platform.

I am happy that people are enjoying win 7. I like new things too ;) When I see something new, I will be happy to jump on board.

And for the record..you guys still rock the house :) Thank you for your knowledge.

[HX1]

Ok..maybe I need to step this back a bit.

Point 1: Vista should have NEVER gone to market....

Point 2: WinXP came at a time when they had supposedly worked out all the kinks, and XP was called the Super OS of the future...

My expectation is that they get it right. I understand the occasional patch, I do. Stuff happens....but the shear VOLUME of patches and their history so far is nothing to be proud of. We as customers do not have to settle for second rate product delivery....

So, since this has opened up some opinions, I ask this...when is enough enough? When will we have the ultimate "god" os?

Well I do think that Vista was truly a stepping stone for Windows 7..... 12-14 years ago when XP came about it actually was a lot nicer.. IMO.. than say Windows NT.. more user friendly .. something that would return more sales and investment dollar for an industry than could render more... for the progression of a better product.. New directions and uses have taken hold today.. and we basically use these items to do everything, including starting our car... and eve completely autonomous vehicles..

The next point is reasonable to a degree... and truthfully I do not see where the code or methods available nor in use at the time would have even allowed for something of the sort, ( OS that never needs an update.. ) As far as second rate product delivery is concerned.. given the means and reasons for... and what is really contained.. Have you ever used another OS? Linux for example? :think:

Sometimes I feel that through the usage of a computer or system on a daily basis we actually miss a point.. in fact that everything we use see and hear within it is being delivered via code written by a human.. which is going to repeat itself over and over again to bring to you the experience that forms the perception that in fact.. these things should happen smoothly all of the time and without second thought.. and or problems.. Skeptical fine that is what we should be of everything in this world.. yet we cannot expect something that to be written by machine... Nor written to in a way that is perfect right out of the box or as quickly as we see some of these things operate... Environment variables and machines n which they are written on which differ from the millions of different types of hardware variables and configurations which call for code and considerations that will not ever be used nor seen by the everyday user... and have the ability to encompass all factors in all of these areas with the ability to operate perfectly, smoothly,, without opening wholes or vulnerabilities...in fact in some areas methods of securing the obscure may not even be in existence.. or even utilized.. by anyone.. not even a hacker.. until testing by those who specialize in these areas occur.. some exploits which are not quite so straight forward or are branch chained from others areas.. are harder to find.. and less likely to be known.. sometimes even by those writing the code.. or engineering the software...or OS..

Asking for a 'GOD' system is a bit much... The needed hardware resources and space needed for anything which would even resemble it, would be on the verge of quantum computing which if anything is nothing more than an idea as of yet.. and especially not something I can fold in half and stick in a backpack.. Going back to the days of SciFi with the movie hackers.. what they called a Gibson.. and God system.. is far exceeded today.. we are limited by what we aspire to and by what we build and for what purpose.. because.. true to form.. a completely dynamic system would require many more considerations and years of work.. and with each version.. the same to rebuild from the ground up... I mean i many cases your talking about the very infrastructure in which the OS or programs are built upon.. that they would not even exist with without.. and in fact are the only known methods worldwide of doing so..

In the 50's the ad campaign was ' of the future '.. Howard Hughes idea for the jet powered airplane was called an idea of the Future.. When you read this.. it will be in the future compared to when I write it... idealistically speaking it is nothing wrong.. and something to aspire to something more.. yet really.. considerations f the limitations and purpose built machine which allow for enough dynamic usage to cover most widely know methods.. are as much as what we ask... I can do all of those things inside a current OS...right now.. were you might not have been so lucky a few years ago... nor would have the performance out of a system as you did then... There is a long way to go and developments that have not been made yet...

In two years.. three years there will be more OSes.. there will be exploits and patches to keep those out... I mean you have one company against the whole world.. Power of cooperative minds, versus a mission objective to create a usable tool.. that will provide the expansion and ability to be dynamic enough for todays user.. all the bells and whistles.. and yet still remain secure with the ability to change components and upgrade areas as needed... to remain so.. I don't see where that is a bad thing at this point in a very new industry... as far as the timeline is concerned..

A knife was great invention, great tool, used widely.. helped us survive.. made life easier...the design hasn't changed much over the years at all.. has been perfected in many ways, and yet even still may need to be reconfigured depending on its needed use to optimum performance parameters and abilities.... yet it still has one flaw.. :)

[grouchysmurf]

HX1, we can agree to disagree on some of this.

I do however think you are very well spoken and it is a pleasure

speaking ideas with you.

[Ambrocious]

I can say that I am thoroughly impressed with Windows 7 myself. I previously used Windows XP and HATED Vista (most of us did I think). Once I installed Windows 7 however, (been a long time now) I haven't went back to XP.

grouchy, you really should give windows 7 a try.

[mayeray]

idk if you guys knew this but Windows 7 was MY idea.

:P

[anuraag]

idk if you guys knew this but Windows 7 was MY idea.

:P

how can you stole my idea and tell as its yous idea:P:P:P:P:P