Interesting article about window ethics-free practices

[Bob Hemus]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Collins Richey" <crichey at gmail.com>
To: "Linux tips and tricks" <linux-users at linux-sxs.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 7:23 PM
Subject: Interesting article about window ethics-free practices


> http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=06/06/06/1832223&from=rss
>
> -- 
> Collins Richey

This really caught my eye.

Why they do it

The answer, of course, is money. Security firms look on more secure 
alternatives to Windows as a threat to their bottom line. It is in their 
best interest to slow down the migration of users from Windows to any 
alternative platform, simply because any alternative platform is going to a 
better job of providing security than Microsoft has done, or seems capable 
of doing.

If they can't stop the attrition, and the growth of the Apple and Linux 
markets are showing that they can't, they can also try to position 
themselves to be in the new markets, even if they are not as lucrative for 
them as the Windows culture. So by inventing and/or exaggerating threats to 
the alternatives, they can slow down their growth and try to establish some 
cred in them at the same time.

Conclusion

The Windows economy is a tough arena to play in. You have to keep Mister 
Gates happy to survive, and even then, there isn't any guarantee that your 
niche in the market won't be gobbled up by the next release of Windows. Of 
course, sometimes the little fish try to bite back. That is what Symantec is 
trying to do now to prevent Vista swallowing them whole.

It may be that if you do business with Microsoft on a regular basis, you get 
used to working in an ethics-free environment, and you begin to practice the 
same black business arts as the master. Whatever the cause, what I see 
happening in the malware business today reflects Microsoft's own ethics-free 
practices. I'm not convinced there is an honest firm in the whole mess. So 
in my humble opinion, the answer to the question, "can the malware industry 
be trusted?" is a resounding "No!" What do you think?


  Does anyone REALLY think it's about $$$$$$$ ? Ha HA.

Bob