Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Hides Its Own Flaws, Cheats Customers

Haha, very funny pig
Even swine flu vaccines are delivered
more quickly than Microsoft patches



Summary: Microsoft delivers patches only after customers are attacked (despite having prior warnings) and then cheats when it comes to the number of patches it issues

ACCORDING TO PC Magazine, Microsoft neglects to look for its own bugs.

Sotirov noted that it's TippingPoint's and VeriSign's customers who were paying for this research and that Microsoft should be paying too. Surely, I asked, Microsoft does vulnerability research on their own product. At this point another famous researcher, Dino Dai Zovi, piped in to say no: "Apple is the only vendor that I know of that releases patches for vulns found internally."

This rang true; I know I've read Apple advisories that credited internal research and I couldn't recall a Microsoft advisory that credited their own. I looked and not a single vulnerability disclosure (so far) in 2009 was credited explicitly to Microsoft. I asked Microsoft about it.

Their answer... Well, of course they look for and find these things, but not so much.


Microsoft's negligence may justify lawsuits. To make matters worse, Microsoft lies about security, usually by hiding known flaws. The following new report from IDG is very damaging: "Microsoft knew of just-patched IE zero-day for months"

Microsoft may not have hustled as fast as researchers thought when the company patched a zero-day bug in Internet Explorer (IE) just 18 days after exploit code went public.

According to VeriSign iDefense, Microsoft had information about the browser bug nearly six months before the researcher dubbed "K4mr4n" posted attack code to the Bugtraq security mailing list on Nov. 20.


More hidden patches have just arrived.

Microsoft Releases Surprise Advisory



Hidden behind the Patch Tuesday updates, Microsoft released two separate security advisories and one set of updates that were not mentioned in the advance notification.


Regarding the latest Internet Explorer (IE) flaw that we wrote about before [1, 2, 3], Microsoft gives too little, too late, and being a zero-day flaw, damage has already been done.

Probably the most important update for most users is the one for Internet Explorer, which corrects five critical flaws in IE 6, 7 and 8. These are vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit to quietly install malicious software on your machine if you browse with IE to a hacked or booby-trapped site.


This only justifies the use of non-IE Web browsers. The way in which Microsoft delivers security updates is already being exploited [1, 2] to actually push malware rather than a fix.

Malware distributors continue resorting to the fake software update lure for their email spam campaigns. The latest attack poses as a notification regarding a Windows security bulletin, which links to a malicious executable.

The rogue emails impersonate Steve Lipner, Microsoft’s Director of Security Assurance, who allegedly informs the receiver about a high-priority security update for all versions of Windows. "Please notice that Microsoft company has recently issued a Security Update for OS Microsoft Windows. The update applies to the following OS versions: Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows Millenium [sic], Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Windows 7," the fake message reads.


It remains the job of some GNU/Linux-powered gateways to keep Windows more secure.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: The OSI Does Not Respect Anybody's Privacy
The surveillance mafia that bans dissent or key people (even co-founders) with dissenting views
The LLM Bubble is About to Implode, Gimmicks and Financial Shell Games Cannot Prevent That, Only Delay It
To inflate the bubble MElon is now doing the classic trick of buying from oneself for a fictional value
 
LLM Slop Piggybacking News About GNU/Linux and Distorting It
new examples
Links 31/03/2025: Press and Democracy Under Further Attacks in the US, Attitudes Towards Slop Sour
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: More X-Filesposting and Dreaming in Emacs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 30, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, March 30, 2025
Links 30/03/2025: Security Breaches, Crackdowns on Dissent/Rival Politicians
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/03/2025: London Soundtrack Festival, Superbloom, gmiCAPTCHA
Links for the day
Phasing Out Vista 10 in Nations Where ~90% of Windows Users Still Rely on It
Recipe for another Microsoft disaster
The Cost of Pursuing the Much-Needed Reform/Shield Against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)
“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.”
Links 30/03/2025: Contagious Ideas, Signal Leak, and Squashing Lousy Patents
Links for the day
Links 30/03/2025: "Quantum Randomness" and "F-1 Visa Revoked" in US
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/03/2025: US as a Threat, Returning to the WWW
Links for the day
Links 30/03/2025: Judge Blocks Dismantling Of VOA, Turkey Arrested Many Journalists
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 29, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, March 29, 2025
Judges Would Never Rule for Men Who Strangle Women or Against Women Who Merely Wrote Articles About Abuse They Had Received From Men
We don't intend to do "trial by media", so we won't be disclosing claims and defences until it's over
Windows is an Unnatural Disaster, It is Also Avoidable
there's a wide window of opportunity opening
Gemini Links 29/03/2025: Less YouTube and More Station
Links for the day
In Some Countries, Such as Thailand, Firefox is Already Measured at Less Than 2% (One Day Firefox Will Get Blocked, Not Only Lack Support)
Web consolidation around Chrom-isms will doom the Web as we know it
Killing the News With Spam and Slop Benefits Those Whose Desire is an Uninformed Population
adoption of Free software depends indirectly on political activities/activism
Links 29/03/2025: Trademarks Battles, Fires Destroy More Than 3,000 South Korean Homes
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: An Introduction
Perhaps tomorrow or perhaps next week we'll share more information about what happened and what was reported to the California Privacy Protection Agency
Links 29/03/2025: More Crackdowns on Science, "Hey Hi" Slopping is Flopping
Links for the day
IBM's BS (Bait, Switch) Regarding Ways to Stay Onboard
PIPs, RTOs, and forced relocations are just an illusion of choice (or ability to recover)
Costa Rica Almost Bankrupt Because of Microsoft
the incidents in Costa Rica are Windows incidents
Gemini Links 29/03/2025: Art of Looking, Wireguard, EMacs
Links for the day
Links 29/03/2025: Attacks on Social Security and War Updates
Links for the day
Banned evidence: Ars Technica forums censored email predicting DebConf23 death, Abraham Raji & Debian cover-up
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, March 28, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, March 28, 2025