Windows popularity is also a weakness
Having a Windows monoculture has advantages in ease of use but it also has security problems. As I keep preaching, having hundreds of millions of Windows users inevitably means very large numbers of uninformed and/or careless users. So, no matter that Microsoft issues regular security patches- a lot of systems are just not going to get patched. Combine that with an Internet that relies a lot on trust and you get big security problems worldwide. The present Conficker mess is just one example. Some recent studies reported by Gregg Keizer at Computerworld illustrate the problem:
Hackers can successfully attack Windows PCs months — even years — after Microsoft Corp. fixes a flaw, a security expert said today, because there’s always a pool of unpatched systems.
According to data that Qualys Inc. culled from scans of more than 80 million machines, between 5% and 20% of all systems are never patched for any vulnerabilities, including those disclosed by Microsoft in its monthly security updates.
Many are coming around to the idea that the Internet is going to have to implement some sort of mechanism for verifying online identities. The present anonymous way of doing things gives criminals and other sociopaths too free a hand.
What’s your opinion? Is anonymity on the Internet a necessity for privacy or a danger?
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