[OT] Re: Windows woes

[Georg Wrede]

Paolo Invernizzi wrote:
> Walter Bright wrote:
> 
>> Turns out, I did have a trojan rootkit on my system. arrgh!
> 
> It's more and more problematic... from Slashdot today.
> 
> http://it.slashdot.org/it/06/03/31/0741221.shtml
> 
> As a test, I've a rootkit installed on an Windows machine from 3
> years, and it's still undetected. ;-(

That made a thought cross my mind.

If I were the *head* of a three-letter government agency [you name it, 
or then it's one whose name we don't even know] today, I'd sure as heck 
tell B. Gates to install a for-me-only backdoor to Windows, such that if 
"we" really feel threatened, then I can shut down all the Windowses in 
the [non-free] world. Or hopefully, a more accurately defined selection.

Yes, yes, this is not serious, so please no flames from anyone. I'm just 
jotting down corollaries to the thought.

Anyhow, we all see the trend: computers are becoming more and more 
essential -- for _anything_ these days. One day (be it next year, or 200 
years from now) some bad-butt _will_ launch a major attack upon somebody 
else (not even necessarily the U.S.). It would be pretty reasonable to 
hope that there's something we [the "defenders of the Free World", or 
whoever -- no offense] can do about it. And nukes are no match for a 
global digital assault.

Next season's "24" might do well to belabor this thought. Seriously.

----

Frankly, I'm not even sure I'd be against such a back door. (Not that 
I'm for it either, but building a solid opinion on it should not be done 
off-hand. There are too many implications, pros and cons involved. And 
the issue is way too important to just dismiss to either side.)

Their [the afore-not-mentioned three-letter agency] problem of course is 
Linux and BSD. But I would not be surprised if this issue didn't come up 
somewhere (secretly or publicly) within the next 10 years.

Like laws in every single country stating that Internet Cafes using 
Linux have to have such a backdoor explicitly installed, lest they face 
huge fines.

----

No idea where this thought is leading, and I really don't care or know. 
But thought it'd be appropriate to write it _somewhere_ as soon as it 
came up.

----

Hmmm. After proofreading, seems Windows is not enough. "I" should go 
talk with Cisco Systems too. (Routers, backbone HW.)