____/ [H]omer on Sunday 23 December 2007 19:18 : \____
> Having done all my Christmas shopping by mail (again), it just occurred
> to me that Windows Vista should be subject to the Statutory Instruments
> for the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (UK), because:
>
> . It's already badly broken before you buy it
> . It facilitates the propagation of Malware
> . It facilitates the propagation of spam
> . It has pathetic security, and NSA back doors
> . People have been known to hurt themselves just opening the stupid case
> . It's the product of vicious gangsters who are convicted criminals
> . It turns the users into "criminals" who must be periodically monitored
> . It infects your data with DRM and other viruses
>
> I'd say that more than qualifies it as a "hazardous material". I think I
> will contact Amazon and ask they if they've a special procedure in place
> for handling this dangerous product. I'd dread to think of some poor guy
> signing for some innocuous parcel on his doorstep, blissfully unaware of
> the extreme dangers lurking within.
>
[Don't mind me just adding some references]
This was actually discussed before in various contexts. If Microsoft was /not/
above the law, scrutiny would have affected its software a long, long time
ago.
Microsoft Excel fails math test
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Corp.'s Excel 2007 spreadsheet program is going to have to relearn
| part of its multiplication table.
`----
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070928/ap_on_hi_te/microsoft_excel_bug
Microsoft: Excel Bug Doesn't Add Up
,----[ Quote ]
| If you've been depending on your Microsoft Excel software to do your number
| crunching for you, you might want to grab a calculator and review your
| spreadsheets before you send the document out the door. That's because the
| latest version of Excel is housing bugs that are dead set on ruining your
| reports.
`----
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20070927/tc_nf/55613
Experts are calling for product liability for software
,----[ Quote ]
| "Product liability does not apply to software," Gerald Spindler
| of the Faculty of Law of the University of Göttingen complained.
| "But what if a whole company comes to a standstill due to faulty
| software?" he mused.
`----
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/86932/from/rss09
Microsoft confirms OneCare zaps Outlook, Outlook Express e-mail
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Corp. has acknowledged that a bug in its Windows Live
| OneCare security suite has been causing users' e-mail to vanish
| from Outlook and Outlook Express.
`----
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9012499
Software security needs more scrutiny: NAB
,----[ Quote ]
| Since establishing a technology risk and security team more than two years
| ago, the National Australia Bank (NAB) has delivered a scathing report on the
| insecurity of enterprise software, including that provided by information
| security vendors themselves.
`----
http://www.linuxworld.com.au/index.php?id=1610498720&rid=-50
,----[ Quote ]
| Ah, from the horse's mouth: Microsoft just might be held legally
| responsible for selling software that is insecure.
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2006112223522439
Windows XP repair disk kills automatic updates
,----[ Quote ]
| The company is getting a kicking from critics for this - the same people who
| slammed the company two weeks ago when Microsoft forced a Windows patch on
| users who had turned off automatic updates.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/29/windows_update_flap/
Secure web browsing through Live Linux distros
,----[ Quote ]
| Banking isn't the be-all and end-all: there's many other reasons you'd
| want a secure system, separate from what's on the hard disk, besides
| Internet banking. Traveller's can't necessarily trust the integrity of
| a computer in an Internet cafe.
`----
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/13292/53/
NZ banks demand a peek at customer PCs in fraud cases
,----[ Quote ]
| The code also adds: "We reserve the right to request access to your computer
| or device in order to verify that you have taken all reasonable steps to
| protect your computer or device and safeguard your secure information in
| accordance with this code.
`----
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9025780&intsrc=news_list
Linux FlyBuys into financial transactions
,----[ Quote ]
| Linux may be an operating system synonymous with a flightless
| bird, but Loyalty Pacific, the company behind popular retail
| loyalty and rewards program FlyBuys, has announced it will
| jet its infrastructure to open source software.
`----
http://www.linuxworld.com.au/index.php/id;668053298;fp;2;fpid;1
FNB [South African Bank] switches 12 000 desktops to Linux
,----[ Quote ]
| With 12 000 desktops switching to Linux this is very likely the
| most significant Linux and open source implementation in South
| Africa to date.
`----
http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1562
Swedish bank hit by 'biggest ever' online heist
,----[ Quote ]
| Haxdoor typically installs keyloggers to record keystrokes, and
| hides itself using a rootkit. The payload of the .ki variant of
| the Trojan was activated when users attempted to log in to the
| Nordea online banking site. According to the bank, users were
| redirected to a false home page, where they entered important
| log-in information, including log-in numbers.
`----
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39285547,00.htm
Online banking fraud 'up 8,000%'
,----[ Quote ]
| The UK has seen an 8,000% increase in fake internet banking scams
| in the past two years, the government's financial watchdog has warned.
|
| The Financial Services Authority (FSA) told peers it was "very concerned"
| about the growth in "phishing".
`----
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6177555.stm
...Hope this helps as some supportive material.
--
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | Vista: Windows XP with bling-bling, nothing else
http://Schestowitz.com | Open Prospects | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
Tasks: 123 total, 1 running, 122 sleeping, 0 stopped, 0 zombie
http://iuron.com - knowledge engine, not a search engine
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