Reasons to Avoid Microsoft

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MSN Instant Messenger

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• MS security hole extravaganza (The Register, 2002.Jun.13)
  MS has been sitting on a number of security holes which it's decided to dump on us all at once. ... MS soft-pedals the severity in classic form, labeling this one "Moderate." But the eEye bulletin rightly points out that a target machine can be owned with a single session if the attacker knows what he's doing. ... Apparently, users had trusted the MS patch to fix their systems properly. Well it didn't... Apparently, the [previously reported Gopher exploit] is a bit worse than MS had originally thought, and affects not [just] IE...
  

• Microsoft Warns of Critical Instant Messaging Flaw (Washington Post, 2002.May.08)
  A security flaw in Microsoft's instant messaging services could enable remote attackers to take control of users' computers... [it] can be exploited through a malicious e-mail message, Web page, 'or through any other method where Internet Explorer is used to display HTML that an attacker supplies.' ... [Even] non-active Messenger users, or those who access the service using a third-party ... should upgrade... 'The attack doesn't happen through the chat client, so as long as you have MSN Messenger installed, if I send you a special URL, I can [take over your entire computer]'
  

• Microsoft Instant Messenger Virus Sweeps Net (Slashdot, 2002.Feb.13)
  ...the code could have done worse than just messaging your contacts. With Microsoft making 'messaging' an integrated part of the operating system, any flaws in it can be exploited to affect millions of people instantly, so it is a high-value target. Does it have commensurate high-strength security?
  

• Messenger woes cast cloud over Hailstorm (ZDNet, 2001.Jul.09)
  For Microsoft, the outage is a black eye as it puts more emphasis on instant messaging--and network reliability--as part of its forthcoming .Net software-as-a-service strategy, which includes an ambitious services plan called HailStorm.
  

• MSN Messenger outage enters 7th day (MSNBC, 2001.Jul.09)
  The MSN Messenger outage spilled over into a seventh day Monday, with many users of the free service complaining of inaccessible accounts, despite Microsoft's claims most had been restored. ... While Microsoft struggles to resolve this short-term crisis, long term the outage casts a shadow over some of the company's newest technologies and initiatives that use instant messaging. In March, Microsoft unveiled HailStorm, one of the cornerstones of the company's .Net software-as-a-service strategy.
  

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