Hi Peter,  Thanks for the article and all the information it contained.
I just have one problem.  Its like the Gourmet Expert on fine dining,
whin asked how a fine dish was prepared, replyed, "I don't Know.  I am a
'eater' mot a 'cooker'.  So as a blind PC user, "I just know how to use
it.  I don't know how to keep it well, or how to fic it when it gets
sick."
Next question.  Am I the only one who has this problem?
Gordon Wahl


####
Peter Altschul wrote:
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34978-2003Aug23.html
>
> Microsoft Windows: Insecure by Design
>
> By Rob Pegoraro
> The Washington Post
> Sunday, August 24, 2003; Page F07
>
> Between the Blaster worm and the Sobig virus, it's been
> a long two weeks for Windows users. But nobody with a
> Mac or a Linux PC has had to lose a moment of sleep over
> these outbreaks -- just like in earlier "malware"
> epidemics.
>
> This is not a coincidence.
>
> The usual theory has been that Windows gets all the
> attacks because almost everybody uses it. But millions
> of people do use Mac OS X and Linux, a sufficiently big
> market for plenty of legitimate software developers --
> so why do the authors of viruses and worms rarely take
> aim at either system?
>
> Even if that changed, Windows would still be an easier
> target. In its default setup, Windows XP on the Internet
> amounts to a car parked in a bad part of town, with the
> doors unlocked, the key in the ignition and a Post-It
> note on the dashboard saying, "Please don't steal this."
>
> Not opening strange e-mail attachments helps to keep
> Windows secure (not to mention it's plain common sense),
> but it isn't enough.
>
> The vulnerabilities built in: Security starts with
> closing doors that don't need to be open. On a PC, these
> doors are called "ports" -- channels to the Internet
> reserved for specific tasks, such as publishing a Web
> page.
>
> These ports are what network worms like Blaster crawl in
> through, exploiting bugs in an operating system to
> implant themselves. (Viruses can't move on their own and
> need other mechanisms, such as e-mail or floppy disks,
> to spread.) It's canonical among security experts that
> unneeded ports should be closed.
>
> Windows XP Home Edition, however, ships with five ports
> open, behind which run "services" that serve no purpose
> except on a computer network.
>
> "Messenger Service," for instance, is designed to listen
> for alerts sent out by a network's owner, but on a home
> computer all it does is receive ads broadcast by
> spammers. The "Remote Procedure Call" feature exploited
> by Blaster is, to quote a Microsoft advisory, "not
> intended to be used in hostile environments such as the
> Internet."
>
> Jeff Jones, Microsoft's senior director for "trustworthy
> computing," said the company was heeding user requests
> when XP was designed: "What customers were demanding was
> network compatibility, application compatibility."
>
> But they weren't asking for easily cracked PCs either.
> Now, Jones said, Microsoft believes it's better to leave
> ports shut until users open the ones they need. But any
> change to this dangerous default configuration will only
> come in some future update.
>
> In comparison, Mac OS X ships with zero ports open to
> the Internet.
>
> The firewall that's down: A firewall provides further
> defense against worms, rejecting dangerous Internet
> traffic.
>
> Windows XP includes basic firewall software (it doesn't
> monitor outgoing connections), but it's inactive unless
> you use its "wizard" software to set up a broadband
> connection. Turning it on is a five-step task in
> Microsoft's directions (www.microsoft.com/protect) that
> must be repeated for every Internet connection on a PC.
>
> Mac OS X's firewall isn't enabled by default either, but
> it's much simpler to enable. Red Hat Linux is better
> yet: Its firewall is on from the start.
>
> The patches that aren't downloaded: Windows is better
> than most operating systems at easing the drudgery of
> staying on top of patches and bug fixes, since it can
> automatically download them. A PC kept current with
> Microsoft's security updates would have survived this
> week unscathed.
>
> But hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Windows
> systems still got Blasted, even though the patch to stop
> this worm was released weeks ago.
>
> Part of this is users' fault. "Critical updates" are
> called that for a reason, and it's foolish to ignore
> them. (The same goes for not installing and updating
> anti-virus software.)
>
> The chance of a patch wrecking Windows is dwarfed by the
> odds that an unpatched PC will get hit. And for those
> saying they don't trust Microsoft to fix their systems,
> I have one question: If you don't trust this company,
> why did you give it your money?
>
> Microsoft, however, must share blame, too. Windows XP's
> pop-up invitations to use Windows Update must compete
> for attention with all of XP's other, less important
> nags -- get a Passport account, take a tour of XP, hide
> unused desktop icons, blah, blah, blah.
>
> Microsoft's critical updates also are absent from retail
> copies of Windows XP, forcing buyers into lengthy
> Windows Update sessions to get the fixes since last
> year's Service Pack 1 upgrade. At least the version of
> XP provided to PC manufacturers is refreshed once a
> quarter or so -- and Microsoft says it's working to
> shorten this lag.
>
> The lack of any limit to damage: Windows XP, by default,
> provides unrestricted, "administrator" access to a
> computer. This sounds like a good thing but is not,
> because any program, worms and viruses included, also
> has unrestricted access.
>
> Yet administrator mode is the only realistic choice: XP
> Home's "limited account," the only other option, doesn't
> even let you adjust a PC's clock.
>
> Mac OS X and Linux get this right: Users get broad
> rights, but critical system tasks require entering a
> password. If, for instance, a virus wants to install a
> "backdoor" for further intrusions, you'll have to
> authorize it. This fail-safe isn't immune to user
> gullibility and still allows the total loss or theft of
> your data, but it beats Windows' anything-goes approach.
>
> Because Microsoft blew off security concerns for so
> long, millions of PCs remain unpatched, ready for the
> next Windows-transmitted disease. Microsoft needs to do
> more than order up another round of "Protect Your PC"
> ads.
>
> Here's a modest proposal: Microsoft should use some of
> its $49 billion hoard to mail an update CD to anybody
> who wants one. At $3 a pop (a liberal estimate), it
> could ship a disc to every human being on Earth -- and
> still have $30 billion in the bank.
>
> Living with technology, or trying to? E-mail Rob
> Pegoraro at [log in to unmask]
>
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