Bagle virus makes a return

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It needs a bit more than that.

True, no OS can prevent a user from running a program, as the whole point of an OS is for users to run programs.

However, what the program can DO once it RUNS *IS* a function of the OS's security.

A program simply should not be able to worm itself into the operating system, especially if launched by a user who lacks administrative, system, or root level privileges (and if your basic users do have such privileges, that's YOUR fault [assuming that you're the IT director], not the OS's -- in fact, that should be grounds for your employer to advertise for a new IT director, as that would be FUNDAMENTAL incompetence on your part).

On the other hand, if there are exploits in the OS that code can use to grant itself such privileges even if launched by a user that lacks them, that is the OS's fault. THIS is where Open Source and Mac OS X have it all over Windows (though XP SP2 has helped dramatically here).

If an E-Mail program can have its Address Book and other contents queried by an automated program that the user did not initiate, without notifying the user, that is the E-Mail program's fault. Again, Outlook has gotten somewhat better at this, but Outlook Express is still wide open.

Posted by: Joel R   Posted on: 01/28/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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