OK, a couple posts down I made light of the Windows vulnerability that is aimed at the animated cursors was fixed just a few hours after my post. Well so we thought. It seems the fix broke Windows XP SP2 systems. If you have Realtek HD Audio then you stand a good chance of not being able to open the audio control center after applying this patch. OH, and you will also be warned that an illegal DLL relocation has occurred. OK, no big deal you say, well guess what, the exploit is not only still there, but even wider now. So who cares? Well the crackers that will be sending out tons of nude Britney Spears images for those who click and get infected. That is an awesome deal!
“A Microsoft spokesman said in an e-mail that Microsoft was first aware of the issues around the update for Windows XP SP2 during the testing process for the patch. He also said the number of customers affected by the glitch appears “limited” at this point, but the company is recommending that users appply the hotfix.”
Interesting, it says that Microsoft was aware of the issue during testing, but because the glitch appears “limited” they went ahead and released it. Limited strikes me though, as Realtek audio chipsets are some of the most popular chipsets there are, and are in a majority of manufactured PCs as well as some custom built PCs where people didn’t upgrade to a Soundblaster setup or such. I guess causing this issue on more than 25,000 university machines is also considered limited as well.
OK, so I promise to not disrespect Microsoft in this post, as I really don’t have to. They have been doing a great job disrespecting themselves of late. So why all of this Microsoft stuff on your blog Mr. Rich? Well a number of people read this blog, not just Planet Ubuntu, but quiet a few other planets and aggregators. My job is to promote Free and Open Source, well it isn’t my job, but my hobby. No better way to promote it than by showing off the continuous flaws in Microsoft. Well Linux has flaws too, and you are correct. However in the world of Free and Open Source software, you usually don’t get the amount of stupid updates that you do elsewhere for one, and two who cares what the reports say, Linux is far more secure than Windows, if it wasn’t so secure, stable, and blazing fast, than can someone explain why it controls more than 60% of the worlds web servers?
The Linux desktop is getting better everyday, and no matter your skill level, Linux has more to offer than Windows will ever have, oh and lets not forget Apple who is over in the corner sitting pretty right now. You may not be able to game or do your AutoCAD like you can with Windows, but everything else is good to go. I have been using Linux forever and the only reason I had the need for a Windows box was to game and do some AutoCAD. Other than that I have been able to follow along in college with my trusty Linux setup producing projects and products that are on par with the rest of the class and at times even better, but of course that is more me than it is Linux 🙂
Here is my offer to you, if you have been thinking about trying out this “Linux” thing, go for it. No matter your age, your race, sex, creed, religion, or knowledge, unlike Microsoft, we (Linux) do not discriminate! Give it a try right now!
