__/ [ Mark Kent ] on Saturday 02 September 2006 04:56 \__
> begin oe_protect.scr
> Peter Hayes <not_in_use@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>> On Fri, 1 Sep 2006 14:06:29 +0100, Richard Rasker wrote
>> (in article <pan.2006.09.01.13.06.28.237134@xxxxxxxxxx>):
>>
>>> Op Fri, 01 Sep 2006 11:49:33 +0100, schreef Peter Hayes:
>>>
>>>> On Fri, 1 Sep 2006 08:54:21 +0100, Roy Schestowitz wrote
>>>> (in article <1468488.qjgW78f8Md@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>):
>>>>
>>>>> Uptick in Windows attacks reported
>>>>>
>>>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>>>>> Several security experts are warning of increased cyberattacks
>>>>>> targeting Windows PCs, but Microsoft says all is calm on the attack
>>>>>> front.
>>>>> `----
>>>>>
>>>>> http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6111583.html
>>>>
>>>> "If a PC is hijacked, SANS Internet Storm Center recommends completely
>>>> erasing the hard drive and reinstalling the computer's operating system.
>>>> "That sounds drastic...but it gets rid of the worm, gets rid of the
>>>> botnet, and plus you have a brand new box," according to the ISC."
>>>
>>> Well, actually it's the recommended course of action for a cracked Linux
>>> box too.
>>>
>>>> The amount of work involved would be immense. Install XP SP2, then hours
>>>> spent installing all the subsequent updates. Plus all the reboots. And
>>>> all just to remove one worm. Sheesh...
>>>
>>> Lemme see ... modern Linux box, distro on DVD ... Personal record
>>> installing Mandriva 2006 on an AMD64, 2GB RAM, fast HD's: 12 minutes from
>>> power-up to a fully functional system. Subsequent installation of updates
>>> and extra packages: perhaps an hour. Let's err on the generous side, and
>>> say that a full Linux reinstall will on average take two hours.
>>>
>>> With Windows, this is more like two days, at least. Now let's calculate
>>> what it'd cost to rid the world of malware:
>>> - Total number of Windows computers: 300 million
>>> - Infected with unwanted software: 50% (let's be generous once again)
>>> => total number of Windows reinstalls: 150 million
>>> => at 20 hours per reinstall = 3 billion man-hours
>>> => at $10 per hour (my generosity knows no limits):
>>>
>>> Grand total: it'll cost 30 billion dollars *at least* (and probably
>>> double or triple this amount), just to fumigate the whole of the Windows
>>> fleet. Then, to maintain this situation, people will spend on average $20
>>> per machine on anti-virus, anti-malware etcetera, so throw in another
>>> $6bn. But that's peanuts in comparison to the cleanup cost.
>>
>> Microsoft is like nuclear energy. It's cheap, but leaves behind a legacy
>> of waste products that cost billions to dispose of.
>>
>
> Actually, this analogy is even better that that, because just like
> nuclear, Microsoft /appears/ to be cheap, but only when you ignore the
> construction costs too. Of course, the nuke industry have gone to a lot
> of effort to market the idea that their product is inexpensive, just
> like MS, and also just like MS, to market that idea that it's very safe.
>
> Personally, I'd still like to see a fusion reactor working, but...
I quite liked that analogy itself. Wait until the world unburies the waste.
It's nuclear (evidence).
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