The headline phrase typically refers to the buying of computers with Windows pre-installed by the OEM vendor when you don’t need or want it. I.e. you’ve paid more for the machine ( because it includes Windows ) when you aren’t going to use it.
Unfortunately this time it refers to you, a citizen, paying extra personal tax to fix issues in Microsoft’s software!!! What?!?! World gone crazy ( again )? According to Robert McMillan’s piece on ComputerWorld, Scott Charney (Microsoft’s veep for Trustworthy Computing) suggests that one way to fund fighting botnets is to tax users. “You could say it’s a public safety issue and do it with general taxation” Charney said.
For those not in the know, a botnet is a large collection of compromised PCs/computers ( these will typically be made up of almost 100% Windows machines that have been compromised by a virus, malware or some other piece of malicious software ). Most Microsoft software ( not only their operating systems ) have an atrocious track record when it comes to security and as a result, are the subject of frequent attacks, the result of which is large botnets that generate spam email, infect websites ( running Microsoft web servers ) and propagate other malicious software to infect even more machines.
90%+ of all email generated last year was spam – the direct result of the poor security in the operating system you are probably using on your PC. According to a McAfee report published in May 2009 the amount of energy used every year to transmit, process and filter spam would be enough to power 2.4 million homes, with the same Greenhouse Gas emissions as 3.1 million passenger cars.
Every year, millions of people are the subject of identity theft, banking account invasion, phishing and pharming scams, money loss, credit card schemes and fake software. All because of that one word – Microsoft. Billions are spent each year buying anti-virus and anti-spyware software for PCs, and these are at best only 33% effective. A complete industry of technicians and consultants grew up just to deal with Microsoft security issues.
Are you aware, as a Standard Bank client in South Africa, that every time you draw money from or use an SBIC ATM, you are working with Microsoft Windows XP – the most hacked OS ever?
To be clear, botnets are single biggest security threat on the Internet – because of the lax security in Microsoft products.
Now you may say that because of Microsoft software’s overarching ubiquity it’s subject to more attacks but that argument has left the building a long time ago. Along with Elvis. Linux is used in everything from phones, to set-top boxes, fridges, cars, industrial applications to your common or garden PC computer at home. MacOS X makes up a good proportion of computer sales world wide. AIX, HPUX, Solaris, VMS and other operating systems have been running the core institutional services of the world for decades without any known security breaches.
So the questions you need to ask yourself are:
- are you safe?
- are you willing to bet your security, identity and money on the Windows platform?
- are you happy to pay technicians to fix your PC when it becomes infected?
- are you willing to pay more personal taxes so that Microsoft can continue selling you insecure software?
I switched from the Microsoft Windows platform almost 6 years ago and I’ve never looked back. I work with a simple and reliable operating system that does what I need it to, yet doesn’t put my personal and financial well-being at risk. Can you say the same? No? Perhaps it’s time for a change …
