[paulklenk]

What in heck is wrong with Microsoft? Why are there products so vulnerable to security breaches?

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

dont worry all you microsoft xp users just send me your social security number with your name and I will get back to you with a fix for your problem

[Pern]

LOW QUALITY CRAP

LOL! I downloaded SP1 for XP pro, and now my computer reboots whenever it want's to. It's done it 3 times today so far.

[big'ol_freeper]

What a surprise, a Microsoft product with security flaws! < /sarcasm>

[Capt_Hank]

I downloaded SP-1 the other night. I couldn't delete any files or folders via the "right click". Found out that I had to set the folders or files for sharing. This is dumb as hell, I'm the owner and only user.

[evolved_rage]

This always reminds about Asimov's Foundation trilogy. The big fat bloated empire with all the resources in the galaxy, building enormous and inefficient spaceships, versus resource constrained Terminous, a planet that was driven to build more and more efficient technology and brainpower. How much longer before the PC OS won't fit on one CD?? And then there is DLL hell and registry bloat too. Just depressing.

...I know, I know, but I've never seen a mac in any (about 20-30) corporate finance/accounting settings since an old Classic was used as a foot rest back in 1993. I'll change when they change, I gotta eat.

[meadsjn]

indexing

[SGCOS]

...Microsoft urges Windows XP users to download the Service Pack and install it as quickly as possible. You can find that here . It's a large file, though...

Only took my system 2.5 hours to download and install on a 10 MB net connection.

[BJungNan]

GRC.com is a site you should book mark and check from time to time.

For those of you running Windows 9x (Windows 95/98) he has a very good trick to significantly increase you on line security.

GRC Link Here to Windows 9x security fix

Excerpt from the site on this subject (95/98 security):

Network Bondage
Discipline your network bindings in the privacy of your own home.

Microsoft's networking technology is only required for sharing files and printer services with other Microsoft-based PC's. It is not needed for connecting to the Internet or for using any Internet services. Using it in wide area networking (WAN - like the Internet) situations, dramatically lowers your security by divulging information about you and your computer, exposing Microsoft's weak password protection system to password crackers over the Internet, bringing your machine to the attention of Internet scanners and intruders and making you a target for attack.

When going through the process, if you do, print out the instructions, read through them once. Don't be intimidated. It is very step by step. Then have the instructions next to you as you work through the changes.

[toupsie]

A massive security hole in Windows XP? Didn't Bill Gates say that Windows XP was the most secure OS ever? Wasn't their a memo passed to all Microsoft staff saying security was job #1? None of this makes since. Maybe Bush2000 can explain it. He seems to know all of the Microsoft marketing excuses.

Guess its time to switch or sort of switch.

[chaosagent]

According to The Screensavers on TechTV, this hole is very easy to fix without downloading SP1.

Search your machine for a file called "uplddrvinfo.htm".

Change the filename to anything else., i.e. "uplddrvinfo.htmOLD".

Reboot.

Bang! You're done.

This only applies to XP machines.

[Jalapeno]

Windows XP contains massive security hole

Just one?

[savedbygrace]

bump for later read

[phalynx]

humm, I wonder about this. It seems to me that I read that SP1 of XP allows MS to be able to deactivate any product, software, filetype, etc... at any given time. I recall reading this in the latest publications and that it is stated in the new License Agreement. It is also a "feature" in W2K SP3.... I think I will not upgrade.

[thmiley]

I'm installing Redhat on the laptop tomorrow.

I F***ing hate Micro$oft.

[rdb3]

The Penguin Ping.

Wanna be Penguified? Just holla!

Got root?

[lelio]

Here's The Register's story on it.
In a nutshell: if you use the "Help Center" (just WTF is that?) you can pass it a string to delete directory contents.
If you put "hcp://system/DFS/uplddrvinfo.htm?file://c:\test\*" for a URL in IE it should erase what's under c:\test. However it looks like it only works for XP as my 2k box doesn't have the DFS directory or a uplddrvinfo.htm file.

[Scully]

Don't know if this is relevant, but here's a ping anyway.

[Paulus Invictus]

Gosh, we don't have incessant Microsoft/PC problems with our faithful iMAC and Apple operating system (9.2.2).

Does one have to experience such horrible problems as reported in this post things to qualify as a eternally-frustrated computer nerd? Hope not! We'll just coast along, error and virus free. Ho Hum...

[Dominic Harr]

Dear Lord.

A simple URL has the ability to delete files from the hard drive.

I'm not sure how many of ya'll are developers, but that is one *pathetic* piece of programming. There is simply no excuse for an error of that type, of that magnitude. That is people simply not caring about doing a good job.

For a wide variety of reasons, in a wide variety of ways, this is just unacceptable. At some point, MS is going to have to begin to be held accountable to the laws that prevent a merchant from selling a product that does not perform as advertised. They should be encouraged to perform a recall of all the copies currently on the shelves.

And just imagine what else is hidden there in plain sight?