End users don't install and configure their own Windows boxes. Dell or Gateway or Compaq/HP or Alienware does.
And here's the proof:
MSFT Fourth Quarter 2003 Earnings Report
Product Revenue
Client includes revenue from Windows XP, Windows 2000, other standard Windows operating systems, Tablet PC, Windows Media Center Edition, and classic operating systems licensed for embedded systems (operating system software for use in devices other than PCs). Client revenue was $2.53 billion in the fourth quarter, increasing 4% compared to $2.43 billion in the fourth quarter of the prior year. The quarterly revenue growth was driven by a 2 percentage point increase to 62% of the mix of the higher priced Windows Professional operating systems, the majority of which was in the OEM channel. Windows Professional revenue growth for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2003 was $201 million or 14% compared to the prior year fourth quarter, offset by a decline in other Windows operating systems.
Distribution Channels
OEM channel revenue represents license fees from original equipment manufacturers who pre-install Microsoft products, primarily on PCs. OEM revenue for the fourth quarter was $2.49 billion, up 6% from $2.34 billion in the comparable quarter of fiscal 2002. The OEM revenue growth reflects a 5% increase in reported licenses, a 25% increase in Windows Professional revenue due to an increase in the mix of the higher priced Windows Professional licenses, and 18% and 37% revenue growth for Office and Server products, respectively.
Allow me to break it down for you. Microsoft makes $2.53 billion from Windows sales -- and $2.49 billion of those sales originate in the OEM channel (ie. Dell, Gateway, etc).
So OEMs account for 98.41% of all Windows installations; and hence, practically no end user installs Windows on his or her own box..
Thus, we can conclude that any security issues relating to user account configuration are caused by OEM failure to configure the boxes correctly. Game over.
End users don't install and configure their own Windows boxes. Dell or Gateway or Compaq/HP or Alienware does. Why don't you move into the REAL WORLD, Bush.
In the real world users are handed a box that boots into ADMINISTRATOR ACCESS and very few users are sophisticated enough to restrict their own default access.
In the real world Windows installers install Internet Explorer, Outlook, and a host of other applications that 99.9999% of Windows users think is part of their computer''s suite of WINDOWS software.
In the real world, Microsoft installers finish the job with the Messenger Service turned ON... so they and others can pop ads into your browser.
In the real world, Bush, many people buy an off-the-shelf upgrade so they can bring an older computer into the wonderful world of Windows XP.
In the real world, some even buy full installation versions so they can build their own boxes.
In the real world people want to install and USE software rather than just sit there and admire the Kernal of Windows doing nothing so they can be totally secure.