On Sun, 15 Aug 2004, Hank Nussbacher wrote:

...

Retina scan on something and some virus/worm got in and it took some registry editting and safe mode work to get it removed - and I know what >I am doing.

As far as I know, there is no remotely exploitable hole in windows that doesn't have a patch for it, nothing majorly in the wild anyway. I run my fully patched XP laptop without firewall directly connected to the internet all the time and the above you mention doesn't happen to me.

A lot of the problems with windows that people complain about, isn't Microsoft caused apart from them designing a bad driver/library/registry model for how things are installed and ran. I usually run windows boxes

for two-three years without reinstalling them, other people have to re-install every 3-6 months. Looking at their usage pattern and mine, they install games and other programs and de-install them all the time, whereas I usually stick to a fixed set of programs and rarely install new ones,

and I always apply new patches when they're available via Windows Update. I can also run my machine for months without it crashing, which seems an unobtainable feat for a lot of other people. I see a pattern.

Bad hardware and application software cause a lot more problems than the operating system itself.

-- Mikael Abrahamsson email: swmike@swm.pp.se

I agree totally. The only times I ever have to reinstall a machine is when a user has installed a virus or malware on it. We use a NAT firewall on each remote office and at each teleworker's house (usually a basic Linksys or Netgear residential or SoHo class router) and Symantec Corporate AV that updates from the main NOC's LiveUpdate server. All patch the Windows Updates automatically and I've never had trouble with devices catching the Nachi/Welchia or Blaster Worm, because we stayed on top of patches. There should never be a reason to reinstall Windows except some software that a person installed or hardware failure. Joe Johnson P.S.: Teenagers really are the exception, though. I can't even begin to count the number of times I've had to help my sister over the phone because her kids installed something or another that caused the system to grind to a halt.