Summary: Signs of nervousness as Microsoft resorts to FUD and bribes

A LOT has already been written about the subject, so to keep it short, here is one prior take:

Internet Explorer 8 – Get the Propaganda!

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But what really takes the cake, in light of the multitudinous testings that everyone from ZDNet to the bagboy at the neighborhood grocery store has performed, is the effrontery that Microsoft shows with this page.

The short story is that Microsoft essentially bribes users to drop all Web browsers but Internet Explorer and it has also set up a page which is comparable to the “Get the Facts” campaign (against GNU/Linux), which was slammed for deception or outright propaganda.

There are many deficiencies in Microsoft's arguments for Internet Explorer and many people have done the systematic debunking already. But on the issue of security, there is a lot to be refuted. Well, even Vista 7, whose security problems "cannot be fixed", continues to be shown for the Swiss cheese it is. UAC leads to flaws, and now exploits too.

12th June 2009: Program and Source Code Released 13th June 2009: HTML version of the source and step-by-step guide online now, too

Speaking of security, here is another timely reminder of problems GNU/Linux users need never cope with.

Security firms Symantec and McAfee have both agreed to pay $375,000 to US authorities after they automatically renewed consumers' subscriptions without their consent.

The firms have agreed to settle the case with the New York Attorney General, who says the companies must be more up front about subscription renewals in the future.

GNU/Linux is inherently more secure than Windows, so even as it continues growing, security firms will stay out of the picture for the most part (placebo effect aside). ⬆