Cox Crow

Never Underestimate the Power of Human Stupidity

At the moment I'm not sure the authors of Windows Update are competent enough to expose their work.

MS02-018 is the IIS cumulative patch. It supersedes all previous patches for IIS. MS02-012 patches a problem in the SMTP service, an option bundled with IIS. Windows Update wants to apply the patch for MS02-012, even though MS02-018 was already applied.

And the funny part? The SMTP service is not installed.

6:12:40 PM # Google It!
categories: Dear Microsoft, Security, System Administration

Dave Barry on System Administrators (and spam)

The newspaper I work for, The Miami Herald, is owned by a large corporation that has a strict computer-password policy administered by people who were kicked out of the Nazi party for being too anal retentive.

4:08:00 PM # Google It!

Windows Update (erratum)

It has been suspected that Windows Update and other means of updating the operating system have included featurettes that somewhat, ah, improve performance as the release date of another version nears. Documents revealed in Department of Justice v. Microsoft showed that this suspicion has some basis in fact.

To alleviate suspicion, hold your hands out, palms up, open: "I have nothing to hide."

3:39:49 PM # Google It!
categories: Dear Microsoft, Industry

Windows Update (post 2 of 2)

The new version of Windows Update adds some significant features. Most obvious among them, and the one that will cause the most panic among the paranoid, is the backport of Automatic Updates to Windows 2000. Automatic Updates checks in with the mothership on a scheduled basis to see if there's anything New & Improved! that needs to be installed.

But that's only one component. The Windows Update service has been packaged for distribution, as Software Update Services, so you can update systems from a locally-approved cache. The question that I have is whether this version checks installed files as well as the Registry before confirming that all is swell.

It's all about patch management.

3:08:03 PM # Google It!
categories: Industry, Security, System Administration

Windows Update (post 1 of 2)

Jenett notes a change in Microsoft's Windows Update. However, there's no cause for alarm here. Microsoft has been trying to discontinue DOS for years. Three things have prevented this: usability, compatibility, and hardware support — or, really, one thing: installed base. With NT XP, they are finally close to eliminating DOS from their inventory. Supporting only NT versions makes life much simpler for them.

If you're unhappy with the vendor, might I suggest a switch?

1:16:12 PM # Google It!
categories: Industry

Geographic Distinctions, or It's a Small World After All

How comes that the Pro update is costing $29.99 in the US and Euros 42 in Europe? It's not even localized, if it is I don't care, I want it in English. All they have to do is send a serial number. Does this costs 12 Euros/Dollars more in Europe? [Paolo Valdemarin: Paolo's Weblog]

For purposes of comparison, the exchange rate now is:

29.99 US Dollar (USD) = 29.6813 Euro (EUR) using a conversion rate of 0.9897, current as of Jul 16 2002 12:00AM EST

42 Euro (EUR) = 42.4368 US Dollar (USD) using a conversion rate of 1.0104, current as of Jul 16 2002 12:00AM EST

12:10:59 PM # Google It!
categories: Industry

Let the punishment fit the crime

Something is wrong here.

• penalty for executive-class fraud is two years, or so.
• penalty for rape is seven years.
• penalty for reckless hacking is life.

When the instruments of justice are limited to time and death, it's less possible to find congruent punishments. On the other hand, or the lack thereof, what is appropriate?

12:00:35 PM # Google It!
categories: Law