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Ballmer: 'Trust Us'
Microsoft looks for public trust
(old news - 12:02PM Wednesday Feb 06 2002)
tags: business · security
ZDNet UK has posted an interview with Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer. In it, Ballmer defends the company's new push towards more secure software platforms and the desire to "really...work on these trust and quality issues." Ballmer goes on to defend some of the finer points of the company's pitted and scarred security history, and of course, pushes the .Net initiative a handful of times. You can also examine this PCWorld article that details Microsoft's "house cleaning" plans.

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Forums » Ballmer: 'Trust Us'
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Post a:
dick white
Premium
join:2000-03-24
Annandale, VA

hah. show me the money.

Only time and careful public scrutiny will tell if this is a genuine effort to provide a safe and effective product or just spin to hopefully keep the cash register ringing.

dw
permalink · 2002-02-06 12:40:37 · Reply to this

dnoyeB
Ferrous Phallus

join:2000-10-09
Southfield, MI

Re: hah. show me the money.

Its all a crock.

IF they really tried that 1 month security flaw fix thing, what would the other 99% of MS coding employees do? I am sure they have a security team that works on this stuff, and the rest of them dont. SO essentially this is 1 month coding vacation for those who are not involved with security...
permalink · 2002-02-07 09:33:18 · Reply to this

MeNaCeDog

join:2001-04-04
Las Vegas, NV

LOL@showme the money!

LOL
permalink · 2002-02-06 12:55:01 · Reply to this

AkumalDave
Life's A Beach
Premium,MVM
join:2001-04-20
Minneapolis, MN

Sure, Steve...

...I trust ya! Just lock the door when you leave, o.k. ?

Dave
permalink · 2002-02-06 13:01:30 · Reply to this

HG Fegen$
Johnny B. Goode
Premium
join:2001-06-28
Scotland. UK

Ha! Ha! Ha!

As Charles Cooper wrote in the original Cnet item:
*March Madness, one month early.*

Gordon
--
It's gotta be Rock'n'Roll music if you wanna dance with me:D
permalink · 2002-02-06 13:17:57 · Reply to this

Jim F4

join:2001-11-22
Kennewick, WA

Bla - Bla / Yadda - Yadda

Bla - Bla / Yadda - Yadda
permalink · 2002-02-06 13:33:44 · Reply to this

Gravital2
Deus Ex Machina

join:2002-01-09
Maple Shade, NJ

Uh huh

Like software security is something you can achieve as an afterthought....

No amount of bug fixes will cure a bad design. This seems like plugging holes in the damn while the ground is giving away below it.
--
-Grav-
permalink · 2002-02-06 13:46:13 · Reply to this
amarkows
System Failure

join:2001-05-18
Copiague, NY

Re: Uh huh

Trust who? Microshaft no way.
permalink · 2002-02-06 14:01:43 · Reply to this
sherpaboy

join:2001-07-06
Seattle, WA

 Grav....

Thanks for posting the design issue.

Nobody ever talks about it. Everybody always says bullshit like "People just attack MS because they are the biggest", or "its trendy to attack a big company" or "if BSD was 99% of the desktop market, they would have just as many problems".

The security problems stem from the initial design. The security (or lack thereof) in MS OS's can never be fixed until the OS is re-designed from the ground up.
permalink · 2002-02-07 12:44:43 · Reply to this

Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·Site5.com
·AT&T Midwest
·Comcast

Bugs happen

I am glad to see Microsoft come out with a statement such as this. However, it wasn't as if they weren't putting security in the backseat anyway. The problem is all software created by humans is always going to have holes, exploits, and bugs associated with it. You give a hacker or a group of hackers enough time and a operating system or piece of software and bugs will always be found. It just takes time.

These hacker groups want to get as much media exposure as possible. So what makes more sense to hack or find exploits in? Netscape or IE6? Windows XP or Linux? Some people believe that being the most used browser or OS doesn't matter, when in fact it does to most hackers who want to make a name for themselves. No one wants to spend hours or days trying to find exploits in software no one uses.

Sure, Microsoft and almost every other software company wants to see zero bugs and 100% security. However, you aren't going to see that kind of software as long as humans write the code. As humans learn from their mistakes, other bugs as yet undetected lurk within. It just takes time and a hacker to find them.
--
Nightfall - »www.nightfall.net
permalink · 2002-02-06 14:19:18 · Print · Reply to this

AkumalDave
Life's A Beach
Premium,MVM
join:2001-04-20
Minneapolis, MN

Yes, but...

I've always felt that it's not particularly important IF something breaks - it's how the provider/vendor/dealer handles the situation WHEN something breaks.

In this case, MS has a long history of snubbing the "white hat hacker" community and refusing to admit their software had bugs (features, yes - bugs? never!). Their arrogant position has made them a target - just as much as being the number 1 software publisher has.

Yes, all software has bugs and will as long as humans are involved. But when MS makes public statements about their commitment to security, given their past performance, people have a right to be skeptical.

regards,
Dave
permalink · 2002-02-06 14:44:24 · Print · Reply to this

Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·Site5.com
·AT&T Midwest
·Comcast

Re: Yes, but...

Prior to Windows 98 I will agree with you. Microsoft had a really bad standing about not fixing bugs when they pop up. However, I can say as of recently they are a lot better. Example, the Nimda virus. The fix was out for this six months before it started to hit. Who is responsible? Users have to be placed to blame. Same with the administrators who don't apply the patches to their own systems. A responsible user or network engineer will do the best he can to make sure he reads security bulletins and applies patches promptly.
--
Nightfall - »www.nightfall.net
permalink · 2002-02-06 14:50:55 · Print · Reply to this

kilingspam

join:2001-04-30
San Jose, CA

Re: Yes, but...

Agreed!
I am still getting hit 30+ times a day by bone heads that STILL haven't patched their servers.
I even got attacks by rackspace.com yesterday!
I KEEP TOLIN YOU PEOPLES!
USE THE STINKIN PATCHES! =o)
permalink · 2002-02-06 15:07:34 · Reply to this

bbrkdub

join:2001-10-03
Houston, TX
·Comcast

 No offense, but one example of MS being early on a defect fix does not mean they are now up to par; they just read the antivirus mailing list.

They still have items now on their "to fix" list. They responded extremely slow to the SuperCookie issue, plus a couple of other items that escaped my mind at the moment. Also, in Decemeber 2001 they had something like 13 outstanding security defects that have been around for a couple of months.

What needs to happen is MS needs to be proactive about security. They need to get to the point where their security bulletins primarily consist of theoretical attacks. The only OS I know like that right now is OpenBSD.
permalink · 2002-02-07 10:40:26 · Print · Reply to this

Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·Site5.com
·AT&T Midwest
·Comcast

Re: Bugs happen

Keep in mind that by the time a security bulletin is released, there has to be a reasonable amount of time given to release a patch. I am not saying that there isn't a lack of bugs to fix, but I am saying that you fix one bug and others pop up because of the way software is coded. All software packages need patches. I can say Microsoft has been very fast with working on fixes for very problematic bugs or exploits that are found with its software lately.

You also compare OpenBSD with Microsoft, which isn't a very fair comparison. OpenBSD is on maybe 3% of the desktops on the market today. Most kiddie/hacker groups aren't going to spend the time it takes to find exploits in it because of that reason alone. I can also see how OpenBSD fixes the problems quickly...but if OpenBSD was on 98% of the desktop market, how many bugs or exploits would be found by these same kiddie hacker groups? I know most Linux users would say zero...but most educated people know differently. Also, how fast would these problems be fixed? It isn't an excuse for Microsoft...but just a side that most people don't look at.
--
Nightfall - »www.nightfall.net
[text was edited by author 2002-02-07 11:19:14]
permalink · 2002-02-07 11:18:00 · Print · Reply to this
Beeper
Part Of The Problem

join:2001-09-27
Dayton, OH
clubs:

Trust is Earned

I am by inclination pro-Microsoft. They are a big reason there is food on the table. I own the stock directly and indirectly through index funds. I'm working on MCSA certs. I don't like the potshots and assimilation jokes too much.

I Want to Believe.

But it would be suicidal folly to trust these vipers. There is no basis for trust from me to Microsoft.

I'm willing to give that trust to them one day, say in five years, if say, there aren't hourly patches for buffer overruns, stupid Visual Basic script stunts, UPnP games, Passport spilling personal data , the folly of single sign-on, and so on.

Else this relationship will exist as it does today. I get my job done in spite of the trouble Microsoft causes.

Where do you want to go today, indeed.
--
Guaranteed Fear and Loathing. Abandon all hope. Prepare for the Weirdness. Get familiar with Cannibalism.
permalink · 2002-02-06 15:44:32 · Print · Reply to this

master1000

join:2001-02-22
Fort Pierre, SD

Trust?

anyone here seen "Pirates of Silicon Valley" by chance?:)
permalink · 2002-02-06 19:06:56 · Reply to this

SRFireside

join:2001-01-19
Houston, TX

Re: Trust?

said by master1000:
anyone here seen "Pirates of Silicon Valley" by chance?:)
I did. Fun movie. How much of it is accurate I wonder? BTW I didn't get what are implying in relation to that movie and Ballmer's speech.
permalink · 2002-02-07 10:34:53 · Reply to this
Forums » Ballmer: 'Trust Us'

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