● 09.21.09

●● Microsoft Confirms Windows XP is Not — and Never Will be — Secure

Posted in Microsoft, Security, Windows at 2:21 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Is XP EOL?

Summary: With Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2000 near the dumpster, Microsoft takes a huge risk by not patching the most ubiquitous desktop operating system

MICROSOFT HAS stopped issuing patches for security flaws in Windows XP, which makes XP unsuitable (and maybe illegal) for use on the Internet.

This very bizarre stance (if not illegal because Microsoft advertised XP as supported for years to come) is more or less being ratified now that Microsoft offers radical advice for ‘removing’ the security risk:

Microsoft says turn off Windows feature to protect Windows[...]There’s no real reason for SMB2, (Server Message Block 2), a Microsoft network file and print-sharing protocol that ships with Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7, to exist. All it does is duplicate the basic network file and print functionality that Windows has provided for over a decade. But, SMB2 is in there, it is broken, and, now it can be used to take over PCs.Microsoft admits that the problem is real. Mark Wodrich and Jonathan Ness, part of the MSRC (Microsoft Security Response Center) engineering team wrote that an experimental exploit is already out and that it can gain “complete control of the targeted system and can be launched by an unauthenticated user.” Just what you didn’t need.There is a way to fix it. Well, sort of. You have to turn SMB2 off.

This stuff cannot be made up. Microsoft is also neglecting Windows Server 2003 and is officially ending support for Server 2000 at the moment. This is a huge strategic risk for the company. Now is the time to advance GNU/Linux for domestic and commercial use. █

Share in other sites/networks: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Permalink  Send this to a friend

----------

➮ Sharing is caring. Content is available under CC-BY-SA.