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Stewart Twynham's IT security diary: Another poor week for Microsoft; Mixed blessings for Apple

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15th Jun 2007
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AccountingWEB's IT security adviser Stewart Twnyham looks around at some of the stories that have been circulating over the past week.

It may be Microsoft’s most secure operating system yet, but this week saw two more security patches being released for Windows Vista.

I am sure that the folks at Microsoft are hoping that no-one’s bothering to keep count, but my guess is we’re still only in single figures some six months after launch. That’s pretty good going, but it’s still early days. Vista is still not mainstream. And many of the people I know who are using Vista have been struggling to get it working to the point where viruses and other malware are the least of their worries.

* * *
Meanwhile at camp Apple, it’s been a week of victories plus the odd embarrassment. Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference kicked off in the US with a blaze of publicity, rumour and continued speculation about software, hardware, and of course the much fabled iPhone.

Back in the UK, the Advertising Standards Agency ruled that Macs really are more secure than PCs, after several people complained about those annoying, but compelling adverts featuring comedians Mitchell and Webb (QuickTime player required).

It turns out that the ASA thinks the man on the Clapham Omnibus would get the joke, where Mitchell playing a PC keeps crashing, or sneezing as a result of a virus, even if several IT professionals who work with Windows, MacOS and Linux didn’t agree. Personally, I think the ASA made the right choice. Only this week the FBI announced that they’d caught the millionth “zombie” IP address. You can be rest assured that these are pretty much all PCs running unpatched and unprotected copies of Windows - probably home users, who are exactly the audience for which the Apple ads were intended.

* * *
Unfortunately, life hasn’t been completely fair to Apple this week. No sooner had Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs announced that a beta of the Safari web browser was now available for download by Windows users than several enterprising hackers started dissecting the software for potential exploits. That very afternoon, six potentially serious exploits had been discovered. No doubt that pushed up the overtime bill at Apple’s HQ in California, but they did manage to turn around an update in just three days.

Over the years, Microsoft’s stance on security and in particular the snoopers and analysts who discover new holes has matured. The result is an almost collaborative approach reflected in the monthly "patch Tuesday" ritual, as you can see in Microsoft’s security update for June.

Recent discoveries of Apple flaws have tended to induce a somewhat more caustic response from Apple - presumably because it all goes against the grain of its sleek marketing/PR machine. Turning around the Safari update in just three days is impressive and certainly demonstrates Apple’s commitment to security. But it's still too early to tell how the company will work with security researchers in the future.

Stewart Twynham
Bawden Quinn Associates Ltd

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By carnmores
21st Jun 2007 13:45

virus creators cause more havoc stress and financial loss
they should all be locked away for 25 years hard labour of data entry

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