Sly Intel CEO warns that Apple is the safer computer buy

The Channel Register ^ | 5/26/2005 | By Ashlee Vance

[Swordmaker]

I note that the article and the headline don't quite agree... the author of the article hints that Oteillini is really suggesting that users buy Intel's newest product... hmmmmmm.

[Swordmaker]

Intel CEO suggests "buy something else" is you want computer security!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

[Swordmaker]

Intel CEO suggests "buy something else" if you want computer security!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

[CFC__VRWC]

I'd also say that Mr. Otellini needs to pay a little closer attention to his daughter's surfing habits. An hour a weekend removing spyware?

[avenir]

"I'd also say that Mr. Otellini needs to pay a little closer attention to his daughter's surfing habits. An hour a weekend removing spyware?"

Of course, but that would lead back to a simple solution that did not include buying a Mac.

[EagleUSA]

Word I get is that Intel has future opportunity with Apple in terms of CPUs....this statement is no suprise :-)

[Tempestuous]

Want security for non-mac pc's? Try "ZONE ALARM Security Suite" for your firewall/antivirus and "ALURIA Security Center" for your spyware.

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp

http://www.aluriasoftware.com/

[Spktyr]

Software firewalls are a joke. Get a real hardware firewall.

[Bush2000]

Oteillini is the head of Intel ... and yet he can't even manage to install a Limited User Account (LUA) for his daughter to prevent spyware infection. What a maroon. Takes 1 minute. Problem solved.

[antiRepublicrat]

Oteillini is the head of Intel ... and yet he can't even manage to install a Limited User Account (LUA) for his daughter to prevent spyware infection.

A lot of tech CEOs have are completely incompetent in tech themselves.

[Bush2000]

A lot of tech CEOs have are completely incompetent in tech themselves.

Then he's no authority; hence, anything he has to say on the subject is bullcrap.

[anonymous_user]

being able to audit PCs and contain viruses.

That sounds like another way to get viruses into a PC independent of user error and the OS. (?)

[HAL9000]

Then he's no authority; hence, anything he has to say on the subject is bullcrap.

Bill Gates has gotten hit with spyware too - and he is the King of Low Quality Crap.

[Bush2000]

Bill Gates has gotten hit with spyware too - and he is the King of Low Quality Crap.

LMFAO! Then that makes Jobs the King of Unused Low Quality Crap.

[antiRepublicrat]

Then he's no authority; hence, anything he has to say on the subject is bullcrap.

He's no authority, so the fact that he's the Intel boss should mean absolutely nothing. But what he has to say is valid in the sense that it's coming from the average non-expert user. It just takes more work to keep Windows secure and running, work that is often beyond their knowledge.

[Tempestuous]

"Software firewalls are a joke. Get a real hardware firewall."

That is a myth. Unless you are running a server or multiple computers off the same HS line, hardware is unnecessary. Furthermore, hardware firewalls have their own inherent weaknesses that software can cover. The best scenario is to have both...but if you only have one home pc, firewall software like zone alarm security suite w/antivirus offers more comprehensive security for less.

[Tempestuous]

Check this out.

http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/webmaster/article.php/3103431

[Tempestuous]

Furthermore...I've had my ports scanned for leaks by "sheild up" and the only port not stealthed but closed is port 113. Here is what sheilds up was said about it.

One of the things that first caught my eye about the Zone Alarm personal firewall (aside from the fact that is was free) was that it has always been very clever about handling IDENT's port 113. I recall being impressed and thinking "these guys really know what they're doing". When Zone Alarm receives an inbound connection request for port 113, it checks to see whether the computer has recently initiated any outbound connections to the remote server sending the IDENT request. If not, the IDENT packet is simply dropped, stealthing the protected machine. But if the user does have an existing "relationship" with the sender of the IDENT request, the IDENT packet is allowed to pass through Zone Alarm's firewall protection so that the user's system can respond normally (which usually means immediately returning a closed status for the port). This means that Zone Alarm is a "stateful packet inspecting personal firewall", not just a simpler static packet filter.

At the time of this writing, Zone Alarm is still the only personal firewall to offer this sort of adaptive dynamic IDENT port handling. I hope that other firewalls will follow suit once the benefits are better understood.

The good news is that since IDENT is almost never used, simple "hard stealthing" of port 113, which is available from all personal firewalls, is probably sufficient. It will allow your system to remain completely invisible on the Internet and will almost certainly never cause any connection trouble.

[Bush2000]

That is a myth.

No, it's not a myth. There have been numerous cases in which software has shutdown, disabled, or interfered with an existing software firewall, without the user's knowledge. That simply isn't possible with a hardware firewall, since it's a completely separate tier. An additional advantage is that you can completely update/replace your desktop OS and/or applications without incurring version dependency problems. And considering the low cost (Linksys has one for $39), there isn't any credible justification for not going hardware.

[Bush2000]

He's no authority, so the fact that he's the Intel boss should mean absolutely nothing. But what he has to say is valid in the sense that it's coming from the average non-expert user. It just takes more work to keep Windows secure and running, work that is often beyond their knowledge.

It's not clear why this is worth mentioning, then, since there are millions of people who know nothing about security that are similarly challenged. The only obvious reason is that Ortellini is the CEO of Intel and, therefore, a juicy target for anti-Windows partisans.