Microsoft NT & 2000 Source Code Leaked.

To all the sys admins out there. Batten down the hatches this could be a bad one.

badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger

damn straight this is going to be bad...who knows what will happen

If the US Government can't keep its most secret codes and data secret, how well do you think Micro$oft has been doing over the years with something that thousands of people all over the world have to deal with on a regular basis. Yeah, they could sue the daylights out of you but they don't have the investigative and prosecutorial power of Uncle nor can they impose the death penalty, at least not legally.

The leakage is only a portion and so far hasn't resulted in anything malicious, mostly because as noted above, anybody really capable of serious world-wide maliciousness (both technically and ethically) would already have compromised the code and used it if they could. An NDA, like a TRO, is just a piece of paper. It says "DON'T", but it can not and does not prevent the occasional "DO", especially with the type of folks that "WILL". Besides, if someone wanted to compromise Windows, there's so many holes in it, most of which haven't even been discovered, there's no need to have the code itself. I mean, how many security issues are there with Windows in the average month?

So, No Big Deal. A Tempest in a Teapot.

If anything, this points up the need for a serious competitor to Windows, one that works and is not full of holes and doesn't rely on secrets to be secure. Oh yeah, it has to be well accepted by the application community too.

My advice : USE LINUX

I will, just as soon as someone ports AutoCAD to it or developes an acceptable alternative. Until then, I just grind my teeth.

I second MarquisDarquis.

were ****ed.

Wait...if Linux is open source, isn't using Linux a lot more dangerous?

Its not - because no one using Linux feels like they've been SCREWED by Microsh!t

Besides - Linux is used by servers worldwide and is FAR better than MS with its built in Firewalls and security.

I Love Linux!!!

This makes no sense...

If software becomes vulnerable when their source code is leaked, then everyone using open source software are open to crackers who knows the underworkings of the system and can make virii that are far more destructive. How can Unix be safer? Suppose a firewall is open source and one can actually find out which codes the firewall uses to distinguish between ports, etc. then the firewall becomes useless.

operating systems are penetrated whrn bugs in the code are found, simply knowing the code wont let you break in. Open cource is safer because there is an entire internet community, corporations (like IBM) etc all looking at linux code, so bugs can be found and fixed quicker.

Hmmm...so only if bugs exist. I always assumed that simply knowing the code will allow one to penetrate the system. I guess OE's have more sophisticated defenses than the simple programs I make and therefore knowing the code doesn't help. Or does it work sometimes?

Deltawalkerl, Unix is much more secure than Windows because of how processes and applications are executed, run, and/or authorized. You can set the partition (installation directory) the kernal is installed on to "read only" and no changes, alterations, installations, or corruption of vital files can occur. Furthermore, each and every process must be authorized to run prior to execution, and must have authorization to modify anything. Viewing the source code for Unix doesn't matter, because the files still have have permission to run.

Ah, when you put it that way, it makes sense.

I was applying the logic of the simple programs I make, in which passwords are part of the code. That's actually quite comical, hehe.

Plus, viri are malicious attempts to undermine the product they are aimed to 'work' on. The Linux community is about helping each other by providing an alternative to Microsoft. There is no centralized company for someone to get mad at, unless you count SCO, in the Linux world. With Windows, though, everyone gets mad at Microsoft so you see viri aimed at their products. Even though Apple has their own operating system, they're the underdog in the market, so no one gets mad at them...except when there's one of those stupid 'bomb' errors.

EDIT: Haha, I posted at the same time as kk3d

I think its easier to phuk around with Windows

LOL

Some of my friends are in MS - one of them is a programmer who worked with the Windows XP networking code...

All I wanna say is - if he was there writing the code then I know I have to get more intimate with linux if I wanna feel safe According to him, many of the programming guru's at MS include their own little programs into the code...agents...trojans and other undesirables - just for kicks!!