[Info-vax] OT: Rob Short: Operating System Evolution

[Main, Kerry]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: info-vax-bounces at rbnsn.com [mailto:info-vax-bounces at rbnsn.com] On
> Behalf Of Richard B. Gilbert
> Sent: January-02-10 5:01 PM
> To: info-vax at rbnsn.com
> Subject: Re: [Info-vax] OT: Rob Short: Operating System Evolution
> 
> Bob Koehler wrote:
> > In article <28ydnYkBfeJND6PWnZ2dnUVZ_o2dnZ2d at giganews.com>, "Richard
> B. Gilbert" <rgilbert88 at comcast.net> writes:
> >
> >> W/XP was better still.  There were, and still are, security fixes to
> be
> >> applied but XP has proven to be a very solid and stable release.
> >
> >    Which is why I only get about 12 security patches a month?
> >
> 
> All I can say for sure is that I've been running it for four or five
> years without problems.
> 
> I know from experience how bad it *can* be.  My VMS systems did what
> such systems do, they sat there and worked.  I had a lot of free time.
> Since I had available time, I was asked to take over the job of
> immunizing our 300 or so PCs against some worm whose name I forget.  It
> pinged every address in our address family in order to locate machines
> to attack. We had W/98/2e as our standard for desktops and people using
> laptops on the road.  I spent months bringing those PCs up to W/2K,
> service pack 4 and up to date on patches.
> 
> I may just be lucky that I'm behind a LinkSys BEFR81 router/fire wall.
>    It won't let anything through that is not a response to a request
> from inside my network.  I keep my Norton Anti-Virus up-to-date and
> haven't had any malware problems for several years now.
> 
> My router reports an average of three attempts per second to open
> connections from outside!  A few of those might be due to fumble
> fingered typing of an address but I'd bet that 99% plus are malicious!
> It's a jungle out there!!!!
> 
> 

Richard,

Unfortunately the view you have of basing the security of your Windows world
on a strong firewall is what the hackers of the world love to hear. They do
not have to break your firewall - they only need to crack the PDA's, cell
phones etc that all of your Sales, marketing and Mgmt types typically have 
with zero security on them.

The next time you bring your PDA, cell phone and sync it internally.. guess 
what happens? You bet, all of those un-patched servers are ripe for picking.

The reality of today's world is that yes, a strong firewall is good, but you
need to realize that 60+% of security issues originate from Internal issues. 

Hence, all of those Windows (and Linux) server administrators who do not apply 
all of the applicable monthly security patches because "we have a strong firewall
and the App groups would not stand for all of the extra testing and reboots 
required to stay current" are living in a big techno colour dream world.

Reference:
http://tinyurl.com/lbyd3y (Information Security article)
http://tinyurl.com/dhy8df 
http://tinyurl.com/yg5dnyv 


Regards,

Kerry Main
Senior Consultant
HP Services Canada
Voice: 613-797-4937
Fax: 613-591-4477
kerryDOTmainAThpDOTcom
(remove the DOT's and AT)

OpenVMS - the secure, multi-site OS that simply works