The Archives of The Evil Empire2000 December
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27 December: Report targets security risks of ActiveX
A group of security experts has published a report filled with tips on how individuals and organizations can reduce security risks in Microsoft's Internet Explorer when using ActiveX controls. ActiveX is a powerful technology viewed by the experts as a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, the controls make it possible for a Web browser to interact with other desktop applications. But the lack of security in ActiveX could invite hackers to seize control of a computer system. The technology has long been the target of security concerns. Last week's report stemmed from a conference in August, where a team of 20 security experts gathered to discuss vulnerabilities in ActiveX. 15 December: Slow adoption of new Office, Windows hurts Microsoft
Microsoft's Achilles' heel is now clearly visible, analysts say. Thursday's unexpected profit warning from the software giant underscores a chilling reality: Office 2000 sales aren't taking off as expected, being dragged down by slower-than-anticipated adoption of Windows 2000. "People typically only buy newer versions of Office when they upgrade hardware or the operating system," said Gartner analyst Chris LeTocq. "Office's features just aren't compelling enough to warrant upgrades more than every other version." 13 December: Hotmail: You Get What You Pay For
If you're a Hotmail user experiencing the free service's latest shortcomings, you're just going to have to tough it out. That's pretty much Microsoft's advice to the 68 million folks using its free Hotmail e-mail service. The software behemoth says there's no customer support phone line because of "security reasons" and users that e-mail for help receive a generic message asking them to log on later. There have been a number of problems, from not being able to get onto the Hotmail homepage to not being able to log in once you're there. 8 December: MS claims copyright on Windows bugs
Microsoft is claiming copyright over its security notices and insisting that mailing lists can no longer publish the company's dire security warnings. The lawyers at Microsoft have objected to the publication of its security notices by SecurityFocus.com, which runs the popular BugTraq security mailing list. 8 December: Microsoft's Y2K security holes - 93 and counting
According to Giga Information Group reports the two most recent security patches issued for Windows Media Player bring the running total for this year up to 93, whereas in 1999 Microsoft 'only' released 62 security patches.
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