Andrew Jaquith Quotations

Obtaining a guilty plea is a positive step in combating a growing problem -- hijacking thousands of computers for personal gain. The case validates what we have seen as the criminalization of the Windows platform, and it is especially dangerous because the exploit was used for a profit motive.

But the fact that there was a security breach is troubling, especially if there are no technical fixes available to protect the system,

With more people getting involved, identity management is getting more complicated instead of simpler. A single solution would simplify the process, and all of these offerings do the same things.

I am glad H&R Block says that revealing social security numbers is against its policy. The question is what is it going to do about it, and is anyone going to get into trouble for this breach of security.

The problem with most security products is that they require people to change their behavior, so vendors need to make it as simple as possible for all users to take the necessary steps to protect themselves.

Traditional signature-based security products can't stop zero-day attacks. Our research shows that while 99% of corporations have deployed anti-virus software, nearly two-thirds (64%) nonetheless suffered virus or worm outbreaks that disrupted at least one business unit. Behavioral security solutions are an increasingly important part of a balanced security program.

This Scarlet Letter approach was very effective in deterring similar thefts.

Up to three licenses is a real good deal. I think it is very consumer-friendly and a good deal for families and SOHO (small office, home office) type businesses.

There could be demand for the technology developed through Higgins, because there are those enterprises that have no interest in adopting a Microsoft solution and want a viable alternative.

Protect the most important things. For instance, store customers' credit-card information on a transactional server, but harness software that can encrypt the data. It is important to keep data where adequate protections are available.

Enterprises have increased needs to keep their enterprise messaging systems continuously available -- for business continuity purposes, to meet compliance mandates and to support investigations. But companies don't want separate products for email, instant messaging and other protocols -- these just increase costs and make management more complicated. Of the nearly 60 percent of enterprises that have already deployed an instant messaging or email archiving product, one-third are re-evaluating their current solution.

If Microsoft had not combined the two, you would still see the mainstream antivirus vendors all trying to premium-price all these things separately.

In the U.S., Americans are terrified of Big Brother. Yet we have no problem allowing lots of Little Brothers, such as the credit card companies, to have our information indefinitely. So now we have thousands of Little Brothers and the Internet giving us hundreds of new ways to track people.

If the worm can embed itself in a user's program, it becomes a widespread problem.

It's good to see Microsoft helping bring fraudsters like these to justice.

I hope H&R Block doesn't do it again. The likelihood of Congress criminalizing disclosure of private information is growing.

I haven't seen a single positive comment about this and it makes them look at little slimy, ... They should have been above-board and should have used software that they hadn't cobbled together themselves.

Clearly, the user doesn't benefit from these default settings.

They looked at everything workers did on the computers.

And the military has farmed out a lot of work on their systems to third-party vendors who can meet the specifications but may not give security as much attention as it requires, ... Security for any public-facing applications is critical.

The flaw is potentially serious because it allows an attacker to gain remote control of a system. However, it requires getting the malicious payload on to the target system first. The most likely way would be e-mail.

The main value of threat response services is the global intelligence network that feeds it. A robust global network with sophisticated data analysis differentiates one service from the next. It is a key determining factor when choosing a security provider.

It's one thing to say you can't have executable code and another to actually prevent that from happening.

As PT Barnum put it, there is a sucker born every minute. I'm glad to see the FBI warning consumers.

It's not a question of someone crying wolf. It's just that there are so many wolves, there is a lot of crying going on. It's just one more thing in a never-ending stream of security problems for Windows.

They have a number of different code bases, which can be hard to manage, ... They need a product that brings together their antivirus, configuration management, personal firewall and intrusion-protection technologies.

They have a number of different code bases, which can be hard to manage. They need a product that brings together their antivirus, configuration management, personal firewall and intrusion-protection technologies.

It's a good idea for Symantec to refresh the Norton product line, which has a strong following among businesses and consumers,

This type of problem is not unique to Microsoft, but they seem to keep making the same mistakes. The vulnerability is noteworthy because hackers could create an automated exploit that would impact the vast number of Windows users.