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Weblog:   Microsoft gets serious about security
Subject:   Yes, but..
Date:   2004-03-11 08:48:14
From:   peter_g_22
As a broadband user I have no problem applying the numerous patches and service packs to our XP machines at home, but the this wasn't the case when I went around to see a friend who's PC was "doing odd things" (he had 800 infected files, 2 viruses and a worm). As a diallup user he was keen to apply the 49 missing updates, but this would have kept his phone tied up for most of the day and his wife did actually need to use it as well.


Problem is, the updates keep getting bigger and bigger, and when the typical diallup user sees the remaining download time bar at some 4 hours are they seriously going to wait and finish the download ? XP is especially bad for this and I don't honestly know what the answer is..
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  • Yes, but..
    2004-03-11 11:39:50  tlaurenzo [Reply | View]

    I recently ran in to this with my father-in-law. He has three computers which formerly connected to the internet via dial-up (and three teenagers who are always downloading and installing wonderful jewels from the internet). He got DSL, so I purchased a broadband router and installed a network covering all of the computers. One of the first tasks I was going to accomplish was to download all patches/service packs and clean the computers from the nasties. However, just plugging any of these PCs into an Ethernet network caused them to fload the broadband router with packets. It overloaded the NAT tables and nothing could get out to the internet... so much for downloading patches. If these were linux or unix machines, I would log in to single user mode, kill all unnecessary processes and be assured that I could do system maintenance without combating all this crap. But it's Windows... and I'm going to spend the better part of my Saturday fixing the stupid stuff Microsoft peddles on the unsuspecting populace.


    At least once I clean it up, there will be an external firewall in place to add some barbed wire to their systems. Now if I can just get the to agree to only give the kids non-privileged accounts...
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