Microsoft is at it again...

You know you would think with as much money as Microsoft has they could at least release a security update without it hosing your system. Well I guess that if the security update kills your internet connection things are more secure right?

Anyway got up this morning one of my desk top systems that is online all the time was not able to get online grabbed the laptop it got online just fine. While getting breakfast the security update was pushed onto my laptop, it restarted and hey now it can't get online. went upstairs verified my linux machine was still working. It was, not the internet connection then. Called my ISP to see if they had heard anything, nope I was the first to call (I live in a small town). Removed the update look at that I'm back online.

Could this be a goodbye present from uncle Bill?

All the more reason to only run Linux on your machines....in fact downloading openSuSe 11 upstairs right now.

weird.. I got TWO updates from MS. One last night and one this morning. Still online though

The one this morning fixed the one from last night.

yeah sounds normal, "ah crap we berkeleyed up"...second update removes the first...my systems never did get the second update.

Makes me glad I'm not doing tech support anymore, I bet my old office is getting a bit busy today.

Funny thing though is my laptop wasn't online until this morning so it should have pulled the corrected update. Ah well more reasons to hate Microsoft

If there weren't programs I needed for work and school that only work under Windows I would be running Linux 100% of the time. We'll see how Suse 11 is with the latest Wine and how well it runs Microsoft apps.

hmm... haven't had that problem with any of my customers. (fingers crossed)

What are they doing about Vista? Considering that everyone hates it . . .

Here's what I think happened.

"Alright guys. Sales of XP are starting to drop off. Looks like it's time for a new operating system. But last night, when I was drunk, high on crack, and kicking a goal with a hooker; I came up with this new scheme. We introduce a new operating system that is pretty on the outside so that people buy it (and manufacturers put it directly on their machines), but then make it suck so hard on the inside that people want to dump it and buy XP. We'll sell twice as much!"

Isn't that what Coke did when they introduced "new Coke?"

And as if on cue, while reading this my computer says it has some updates ready to be installed............think I'll wait til later to "play" computer tech gone crazy.

I think I now know where the name MicroSoft comes from...Mr. Gates looked at the contents of his boxers after reading an issue of PentHouse at a very young ago.

Agreed, linux ftw.

But Suse? ugh. I just don't like .rpms apt-get is SO much easier!

I do have to agree that .rpms can be a pain sometimes but all in all I've liked the Suse releases better than the others that I have tried. Heck I've been using Suse since hmm release 7 or 8

However I do have to say in some of the more recent releases installing has gotten much easier under Suse.

Most corporations don't use the traditional "Windows Update" service. Instead they should be using WSUS or SCCM to properly manage their updates. You know actually testing the updates against THEIR systems and THEIR applications, which you cannot expect any vendor to do completely.

Not to say Microsoft is absolved of any mistakes they've made past, present and future, but for those of you switching to Linux, OS X, etc you still need to pay attention to your systems and ensure they are protected. Just running Linux or OS X doesn't guarantee it, it does make it more likely, but if anything gets a hold of your kernel or gets the root password, you are pwned and many newbies to linux miss that part of the installation/setup.

Finally, Microsoft publishes most patches and hotfixes on "patch Tuesday" which is the second Tuesday of every month. So if you want to keep track you could subscribe to their monthly patch publications or check out the Microsoft Security Bulletin website near the beginning of the month.

Microsoft Security Bulletin Site

I work for a big ISP in one of their tech support centers. We sat in queue all day over this.

It seemed to affect computers with ZoneAlarm, but I'm sure there are other firewalls affected as well.. Turn the firewall off, it worked as a temp fix. Uninstall the "patch" and it would work normally again.

I run Zone Alarm and had to go through the uninstall process. The MS update number in question is: KB951748.

That's why I stick with Mac. 6 year old machine, not one update of upgrade and it's NEVER let me down. I have never heard of a windows machine do that. I honestly don't know why anyone would buy a windows computer. it's like buying a current Chevy Malibu. Why the heck would you buy THAT???

DrBoost, Apple releases updates about every other month for something or another, and some of them are pretty important. You may want to check on that.

But yeah, never had one screw anything up.

I turned that damn Automatic Update thing off, it's irritating. Once I had the little 'timer box' pop up twice while I was working on a document, I kept telling it 'later'. Then, just as I was about to save my document, the damn thing went into an automatic restart.

What I had missed was that AU had started itself a THIRD time but was in the 'tray' along the bottom, flying under the radar (no popup warning box). Aggravating as hell.

I do the updates (and I have to admit that my Vista now works better) but I do them on MY schedule.

yea, I got hit with this crap too, At first I thought it was my flaky DSL modem since it hit my computer and my wife's computer simultaneously. Later that day my sister was over with her mac, and it was then that I realized that bill gates really does hate me...

At work, we often run simulations that take 3-12 hrs of processing time. during "THAT" time of the month (patch Tuesday) we always need to be careful since the stupid corporate auto update utility will force us into a reboot if we don't click on the "not right now" button every 15 mins... naturally we are not allowed to turn it off.

yeah I could have sworn I had turned the auto updates off on my laptop.

In about 3 hours I'll have the new Suse down and I'll start installing it on one of my computers to test it out before I install it on the others.

DrBoost wrote: That's why I stick with Mac. 6 year old machine, not one update of upgrade and it's NEVER let me down. I have never heard of a windows machine do that. I honestly don't know why anyone would buy a windows computer. it's like buying a current Chevy Malibu. Why the heck would you buy THAT???

Ive been running xp without problems since a couple months after its release. Its by far the most stable opperating system i have ever used. I really cant remember the last time it crashed on me.

There is an update to Zone Alarm so that it works with the Microsoft update. CNet article

DrBoost wrote: That's why I stick with Mac. 6 year old machine, not one update of upgrade and it's NEVER let me down. I have never heard of a windows machine do that. I honestly don't know why anyone would buy a windows computer. it's like buying a current Chevy Malibu. Why the heck would you buy THAT???

Windows is more like a Ferrari, fast as hell, but requires lots of TLC to keep it going.

DrBoost wrote: I honestly don't know why anyone would buy a windows computer. it's like buying a current Chevy Malibu. Why the heck would you buy THAT???

As if this topic isn't as hotly debated as FWD vs. RWD...

1. Games
2. Building your own machine = cheaper
3. Games
4. I is a Pirate, Arrr...
5. Games
6. More options for peripherals.
7. I can download drivers for peripherals and never worry about my OS decide it's too good for my printer.
8. Games
9. The right mouse button.
10. Did I mention Games yet?

(Please note the element of humor.)

If you want to compare computers to cars... I'd say a Mac is like a Cadillac or maybe Mercedes. It's pretty and rides really smooth and has the power to get stuff done. However, it's just not something that's going to get tested in aggressive performance. It also costs more than "lesser" vehicles that it shares a drivetrain with, but you get to be cool and hip with that price. It is generally put together better than those "lesser" machines, but will eventually fail more spectacularly, and the average shade-tree mechanic isn't going to be able to fix it.

PC's are... pretty much every other consumer car out there. My PC's are something akin to an old 240sx that has been patched together with a junk-yard turbo rigged up and megasquirted.

Actually, the Windows machines are more like a boring mainstream sedan, pretty reliable and unasuming and can have some decent parts under the hood.

The fact is the license for Windows is nearly the entire cost of the hardware it is running on. Let alone if you buy Office or shudder Works. Though I'd hope most people are at least running Open Office if not Google Apps by now. I only run Office 07 because I have to support it and because I received a free copy of it a while back.

To me, Linux is like a Locost. Cheap, fast and built exactly how you like it, the problem is you may not know the first few times exactly how you like it, so you get to build it, a lot.

Meanwhile the Locost/Linux boards are full of other people sharing their ideas on how they built their versions and so you keep incorporating their ideas on your systems and after a while you realize that you've never actually used the machine for more than perhaps a few days, instead you've been tinkering with the damned thing the whole time.

Eventually you step away from the tweaking and tuning long enough to say "its done!" and from there it is a pretty stable platform that can be used on a wide variety of systems (provided you enjoy the pain of finding and sometimes tuning the drivers) and life goes on. Until the next Kernal release comes out, or someone comes up with some really wicked piece of kit that you can't be without and the cycle begins all over again.

the fact is, Windows is still the standard for games and office use. Linux/OS X are trying to close the gap and are succeeding to a certain extent. Once Wine and other emulators can allow you to use some of the really heavy duty Windows apps/games on an IX system, then perhaps the game and software developers will actually start either porting or fully writing their software for Linux.

fiat22turbo wrote: To me, Linux is like a Locost. Cheap, fast and built exactly how you like it, the problem is you may not know the first few times exactly how you like it, so you get to build it, a lot.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Now the rest of my operating system to cars analogy:

Windows is like a 10-year old BMW 7-series. It's got every gadget it could possibly have, and if you're really, really lucky, some of them actually work.

OS X is like a new V6 Honda Accord coupe. It seems really boring and basic, but once you start digging into the specs, you start realizing that it's just as fast as a lot of cars that claim to be "fast cars" are, it's a lot more luxurious than it really has a right to be, it handles better than it should, and, even after you've beat on it and neglected it for years, it still just works. The PC buyers won't touch it because they say it's better to have the broke-ass RWD bimmer than a FWD anything, and the Mac fanboys say FWD is "teh gr3atest thing, EVAR".

loving these analogies

Linux systems most definitely are the "Locost" of the computer world. Loads of tweaking and personalization. Not "off the shelf" in any sense of the words. You can build it to fit you, but you are never really "done". Some things will require the grassroots approach (freakin broadcom wireless card drivers), but as time moves on more "shops" are getting in on the scene and making things easier. There are actually many more games that are playable in Linux now as there use to be.

Saying that Windows computers are like a Ferrari is a great insult to a Ferrari...hell its an insult to just about any car. However I would I would say its most like my buddies old Ford Taurus, it works, breaks down a bunch if you don't keep up on things and smokes even when you do.