MyDoom variant targets Microsoft

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enforcing patches

"In the same way we expect other citizens to use basic hygiene to protect all of our health, the essential patches should be forced to be installed on old MS products or the user bounced off the net."

But I cannot force you to take a shower or use deodorant. I can expect it, but I cannot bounce you off the street if you don't. Bad analogy.

Anyway, I don't necessarily disagree, but that's an issue to take up with the ISP's, and I'd imagine they'll fight us on it. If a 6 year old system that was completed before most of these viruses were written is vulnerable to something just discovered yesterday, there should be an easy way to notify the user on login and only allow access to a page providing patches (and accessing that page shouldn't deduct from your access time if you are paying by the hour for dial-up). As to limiting the size of the patches, that isn't possible; the size is whatever it takes to fix it. So, many dial-up users may need lots of hours of downloads. MS was talking about releasing a CD to fully patch older systems for just this very reason; I think the ISPs should get involved and distribute it to all new customers. To avoid the "no access until you download hundreds of hours of patches", they could also test the machine on login, alert the user to their deficiencies, and mail them the CD (at MS's cost preferably, or just bill them for the shipping and make it mandatory to continue service). Tell them the CD will arrive in 3 days and if they don't patch their system, they will be locked out in 7 days to that patch-only page. New patches could be made available in much the same way.

I don't think it'll happen, but it's not a bad plan. Of course, then there are the privacy issues, the users with always-on connections, the users behind corporate firewalls, etc., so it's really not that simple.

Posted by: pschroeder@...   Posted on: 01/28/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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