Multiple Patches Next Week

[bazooka]

Windows glitches to get fixes
By Karen Said CNET News.com February 3, 2005, 4:07 PM PT

A bumper crop of Microsoft patches will be released next week, including nine fixes for Windows flaws.

At least one of the updates for the Windows operating system is rated "critical," its highest rating, Microsoft said Thursday in a posting to its TechNet site. The forewarning is part of the company's program to give regular computer users notice of monthly security bulletins before the patches themselves are released.

There will be 13 updates in total, Microsoft said. That includes a critical flaw affecting Office and Visual Studio, and another critical flaw involving Windows, Windows Media Player and MSN Messenger. Also on the way are a patch for an "important" vulnerability in .Net Framework and a fix for "moderate" problems with SharePoint Services and Office.

Microsoft's security updates have come under the microscope in the past month. Russian experts said they had discovered a way for intruders to get past a protective element of Service Pack 2, and a Romanian security service provider said that a critical patch issued by Microsoft in January did not fix all the problems in the HTML Help ActiveX control in Windows.

The software giant's patch process itself was tapped by attackers, who sent out a fake e-mail purporting to be a Windows security bulletin. The message attempted to persuade people into downloading and installing an attached Trojan horse.

The latest fixes will be released on Feb. 8, Microsoft said in its posting. The company has set a schedule of sending out security updates on the second Tuesday of each month.

[mattyboy]

I never had any big problems with windows, but I wish i knew how to use another OS, cause of all this. Linux etc

[bazooka]

I never had any big problems with windows, but I wish i knew how to use another OS, cause of all this. Linux etc

Linux is ok, but I mainly use it for servers.

[mattyboy]

Is is hard to learn how to use?

[bazooka]

Is is hard to learn how to use?

It depends on your skill level.

There are distributions like linspire that are tailored to the people wanting to convert.

There is Fedora which I use. If you like GUI's, it is not a problem.

If you want to tear your hair out learning all the command line stuff, then I recommend Gentoo or SuSe.

[tekkieman]

@bazooka - Are you sure you meant SuSe? It's generally considered one of the most noob friendly distros.

Agree on FC.

[bazooka]

I can't remember.

It may have been Mandrake.

After a while, they all blend together.

[thecoalman]

I never had any big problems with windows, but I wish i knew how to use another OS, cause of all this. Linux etc

Other OS's are just less of a target. I'm sure if they had thousands of people trying to infect them they too would found to be just as vulnerable as Windows....... <ducks and runs for cover> :P

[tekkieman]

Other OS's are just less of a target. I'm sure if they had thousands of people trying to infect them they too would found to be just as vulnerable as Windows....... <ducks and runs for cover> :P

Ok, I'll go easy on you (this time). Your first line is nothing more than what the people as MS want you to believe. The truth, and I'll wait for someone to dispute it, is that any *NIX is far more secure than MS will ever be.

The only way linux would not be secure is if you continually run logged in as root. Linux uses a multi partition scheme which keeps the kernel segregated from the rest of the system. You also require root access in order to open and/or alter those files. Every file has permissions assigned to it from the moment it's created, and unless you are the creator, or in a group specified access, the file at best is read-only.

To be fair, if *NIX had more than 80% market share, yes, there would be many more people trying to exploit any potential security flaw (and there have been some). The difference is (at least in the open source linux world), that there is a large community dedicated to fixing these issues immediately. Any security issue has the possibility of being fixed within hours of being found. Let's see MS respond that quickly!

Of course, I won't ever try to tell anyone that one is better than the other, but I do like that I can download (yes, download), a free operating system, and put it on as many machines as I feel like, and most apps I need are already included (for free). Linux may not be immediately as usable by the masses as Windows, but for those who want out of Windows, it's a great alternative. To be honest, the only reason I use Windows now is for DVD Shrink, and linux alternatives to that aren't too far away.

[mattyboy]

Of course, I won't ever try to tell anyone that one is better than the other, but I do like that I can download (yes, download), a free operating system, and put it on as many machines as I feel like, and most apps I need are already included (for free). Linux may not be immediately as usable by the masses as Windows, but for those who want out of Windows, it's a great alternative.

Is that true!!??? You can download it? I sure would like to expand my horizons and learn a new OS.

[tekkieman]

Almost all linux distros have ISOs that are available for download. You can get them from the site of each vendor, or go to http://www.linuxiso.org

If you want to try one without installing it to the hard drive, look for the LiveCD version. SuSe has one, knoppix has one, dyne:bolic has one.....

These run linux right off the CD (or DVD for SuSe), assuming your PC can boot from CD/DVD. When you're done playing, reboot and take out the CD/DVD. Right back to Windows like nothing ever happened.

[bazooka]

There is also Damn Small Linux which is a live cd.

[tekkieman]

There is also Damn Small Linux which is a live cd.

True, but I don't like it near as much as the others. That's only my opinion, of course....

[thecoalman]

So when I run this CD what about say.... drivers for my display card etc? Does it just load a generic driver, I'm assuming I'm just going to get basic display support????

[tekkieman]

The CDs do some hardware detection (some even mount any available drives to store data), and load appropriate drivers. The only ones that present huge problems are NVIDIA cards. Besides, if you're just using a LiveCD to check out the OS, how much graphics support are you looking for?

EDIT: I had one LiveCD detect and configure my WinTV GO card if that tells you anything....

[thecoalman]

Not looking for anything as long as I cann see something beside a blank screen, preferably one that's not set a 65khz.... I do have a Nvidia card too....

50% and 45 minute left... man I wish I was still on dial-up... :P

[tekkieman]

I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts on it after you've had a chance to play with it.

[thecoalman]

Farewell Windows nice knowing ya... BTW if you don't hear from me for a while it's cause this disc smoked my computer...


I should have started a farewell thread.

[thecoalman]

My eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyes... I couldn't change the refresh rate above 75. I was getting a headache, any video drivers available? Definitley looked interesting though and worth some further exploration. I was going to try and post something here but I have a wireless card and couldn't find where to configure it.... I didn't exactly look all that hard though.

I see there is Linux drivers on Nvidias website IA32 and IA64, will these work?

Edit: Hmmm did some searching around and realised....it's on a CD, more complicated. If I partitioned a drive I could just install it there right? Is there a better version for HD install that you would suggest? Damn you Tekkie.... now I gotta play with this...

[bazooka]

@Coalman,

Have fun

[tekkieman]

@coalman - Yeah, what I did was to get the full install CDs. There are usually 3 of them for the bigger distros(Fedora Core, Mandrake, SuSe). Then I added a second HD, and installed linux on the second HD, with the bootloader on the first HD.

When I boot, I simply choose from Fedora Core or XP. The drivers from Nvidias website should work fine for you, and you can find some good info on what to do with them at http://www.linuxquestions.org. Just do a search in the forums on nvidia. The wireless might be a little tougher to configure, but I'm sure you can find the info on it there as well. I use wired ethernet, so my network and internet came right up with no configuration needed.

Once you get installed and play around, there's some things you'll need to know about playing encrypted DVDs and such, but for the most part, it's pretty easy.

[JSB]

EDIT

[thecoalman]

*****WARNING*****



*****WARNING*****

Child's play, check out OT. At least it stayed sort of on topic.

[bazooka]

*****WARNING*****



*****WARNING*****

That is ok.

It is my thread.

[tekkieman]

You only see it that way because of your limited understanding of a real threadjack. The original topic is regarding patching a faulty OS. The patches are not out for a week. While we're waiting, we're discussing alternative OS'es. Notice it was the OP that extended the discussion to include the alternatives? Everyone after that was merely following in the discussion from the OP. That simple. What would you prefer? Maybe a countdown?

Only x more days until the patches are released...

Only x more days until the patches are released...

Only x more days.......