NSA urging Windows users to update

[KBD]

I, like many other Windows users consider the MS updates to be at least potentially, the most intrusive when it comes to threatening the privacy/security of my Windows system.


/rant

Oh yeah. At first Microsoft was shoving Windows 10 and its anti-privacy agenda like a drug pusher. They finally wised up and put all that crap into the install process where you can shut it all off up front--which is what I do. I think they had in mind they could be "another Google" and just focus on making money slurping up everyone's info, but they got lots of push back and Windows 10 is much less onerous now.

[sg-1]

Gentlemen, Beware of the Wolf. I recommend you quickly run and update your system, only windows 10 is safe, otherwise we get angry, throw NSA word in the XP-VISTA-SEVEN trash. Advertising?? Yes sire.

[rs55]

The only safe way to use windows - is to first set up a dual boot with Linux. Then disable internet access in windows. ie. Only use linux for all internet activities.
Can still use windows for the one or two apps ( maybe like Abobe Lightroom etc) - that dont need internet access.

[rs55]

The only safe way to use windows - is to first set up a dual boot with Linux. Then disable internet access in windows. ie. Only use linux for all internet activities.
Can still use windows for the one or two apps ( maybe like Abobe Lightroom etc) - that dont need internet access.

Maybe Microsoft thinks its quite acceptable people should spend hours a week anxiously scanning articles on the latest "severe threat", spend hours of frustration attempting to update the OS etc.
Sorry. No can do.

Its kind of like your home furnace. Imagine if there was always a risk of the thing blowing up and setting your house on fire. And the furnace manufacturer expects you to stay up on all the nuances of the system and its flaws and continuously tinker with it. Would you use such a system?
Not me. I have other things to do in life than tend to my furnace or my OS. I want to spend an hour or two Once A Year on servicing it.

[handy]

@KBD, my Win7 was setup as I previously mentioned before Win10 even existed.
We see things different ways, & that's OK. :) I don't mind people seeing things different than me, quite enjoy it & often learn from it. I don't want everyone to be like me, or think like me.
I also don't like it when people try to make me do things their way though...
That's when I dig in my heels.

[KBD]

@KBD, my Win7 was setup as I previously mentioned before Win10 even existed.
We see things different ways, & that's OK. :) I don't mind people seeing things different than me, quite enjoy it & often learn from it. I don't want everyone to be like me, or think like me.
I also don't like it when people try to make me do things their way though...
That's when I dig in my heels.

I agree. You got to use what works best for you :)

[JayM]

I've read the article twice, and nowhere do I see where NSA is recommending people upgrade to Windows 10. All I see is

The NSA’s advisory, which you can read in full here, notes that Bluekeep is a vulnerability in the remote desktop feature on legacy versions of Windows. “The National Security Agency is urging Microsoft Windows administrators and users to ensure they are using a patched and updated system in the face of growing threats,” the advisory reads.

The advisory notes that these are the affected versions of Windows:

Windows XP
Windows Server 2003
Windows Vista
Windows Server 2008
Windows 7
Windows Server 2008 R2

Microsoft has issued a patch, but millions of machines are reportedly still vulnerable.

and

Windows 10 systems are protected against the flaw and that it only affects the named older versions of Windows

So Windows XP, Vista and 7, plus older versions of Windows Server, need to have a patch applied which Microsoft has provided even on OSes that have passed their end-of-life and are no longer supported (XP and Vista.) That's all. Even the original .pdf document issued by the NSA only talks about patching, plus a few other steps one can take such as blocking certain ports in your firewall, and only mentions as a brief aside that Windows 10 is unaffected by Bluekeep.
https://www.nsa.gov/Portals/70/document ... 123329-617
Noplace does it mention that the NSA is endorsing or recommending a particular version of Windows, or any other operating system or product.

[rs55]

The only safe way to use windows - is to first set up a dual boot with Linux. Then disable internet access in windows. ie. Only use linux for all internet activities.
Can still use windows for the one or two apps ( maybe like Abobe Lightroom etc) - that dont need internet access.

Maybe Microsoft thinks its quite acceptable people should spend hours a week anxiously scanning articles on the latest "severe threat", spend hours of frustration attempting to update the OS etc.
Sorry. No can do.

Its kind of like your home furnace. Imagine if there was always a risk of the thing blowing up and setting your house on fire. And the furnace manufacturer expects you to stay up on all the nuances of the system and its flaws and continuously tinker with it. Would you use such a system?
Not me. I have other things to do in life than tend to my furnace or my OS. I want to spend an hour or two Once A Year on servicing it.

OK - one more point - then I'll end my rant - promise!

There are two attitude issues with MS:
1. They seem to view themselves as kind of like govt bureaucrats - maybe like the IRS or something. They dont need to worry about making their "customers" happy. They dont have "customers" - they have a whole lot of peasants dependent on their largesse. The peasants may have grievances - so you have them fill out long forms - waste their time, make them wait in the hall all day , then have them come back another day. Its better to frighten them than to delight them. See - there is nothing they can do to you - you are a monopoly!! ( "Michael.. we are bigger than US Steel!!"). Ask not what MS can do for you - ask what you can do for MS.
2. More recently , I think they kind of got Google-envy ( or maybe Facebook-envy). They saw the model - where all these users are not "customers" at all, they are the "product". You sell them/ their data to the highest bidder. Wow. I bet they wished they had thought of this first ( but then they missed that whole "internet" thing altogether - with Gates dismissing it as a nice curiosity - and getting in late in the game). So now, they have this new "Software-as-Service" model - ie. we turn what used to be notionally considered our "customers" into "product". Only problem is - while Google has amazingly effective , troublefree services ( gmail, maps etc etc), MS has bug-prone things that crash, hang up, waste your time - and are generally things you want to disable.

I actually think the whole consumer desktop OS thing for MS has peaked and is headed downhill on a very steep trajectory. Maybe they are OK with that - they are focused on corporate clients, cloud services etc - and probably view this whole consumer thing as a huge nuisance. Feeling is mutual.

[handy]

I expect that if nothing happens to upset the model, that the entire world of IT (which is already monstrously sized & ever growing with its rapacious appetite) will end up cloud based.

Which I believe is why MS is quite happy to feed the Linux kernel based OS's, as they see their future in the cloud, not in the provisioning of any Windows OS's that they have built themselves. They can ride on the back of Linux servers that host their cloud based services & customer data.

Providing the world remains rich enough to support such a model. The next 20 years should provide the answer to that question.

[KBD]

I expect that if nothing happens to upset the model, that the entire world of IT (which is already monstrously sized & ever growing with its rapacious appetite) will end up cloud based.

Which I believe is why MS is quite happy to feed the Linux kernel based OS's, as they see their future in the cloud, not in the provisioning of any Windows OS's that they have built themselves. They can ride on the back of Linux servers that host their cloud based services & customer data.

Providing the world remains rich enough to support such a model. The next 20 years should provide the answer to that question.

I agree cloud service companies like Google and Microsoft will be pushing that hard. It's a terrible idea though as I expect outages like Google had the other day to become more prevalent. That single point of failure can do great damage to large corporations wholly dependent upon the cloud.