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> I don't trust IE from
> a security point of view (as well as everything else).
I agree 100%, but there are so many sites that don't work with
anything else that I'm resigned to using IE. It's the only Microsoft
communication software I allow on my systems.
Up until recently, you could be quite safe if you used a decent email
client instead of LookOut, errr, I mean Outlook or Outlook Express,
the two worst viruses on the net. But these days even browsing a
website can infect you, especially with MS's horrifically bad
software quality.
I think MS has become a de facto utility, given that their software
runs on about 80-90% of the systems hooked up to the Internet. I
feel strongly that they should be held to the same standards as other
utilities. If your local power company screws up and you're without
power, they get hit with heavy fines from the Public Utility
Commission. This gives them incentives to do their job well.
Microsoft has no such oversight or incentive. They can (and do) dump
any crap software they want onto the world. The resulting security
holes spawn viruses that cost *BILLIIONS* of dollars. (If you doubt
me, see e.g. http://www.computereconomics.com/cei/news/codered.html.)
Often security experts can immediately see the holes and dangers in
MS's products, and obviously the crackers find them too. It's
apparent that Microsoft's internal quality efforts are woefully
inadequate. If Microsoft hired these people to torture-test their
software before releasing it, they would save millions of users
untold grief.
They need to be fined when they inflict billions of dollars of damage
due to their negligence. Maybe then they'd have the incentive to do
their job right.
Gary
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