Microsoft: 800-lb Gorilla Bites PC

There’s plenty of positive to say about Microsoft’s contributions to the world: the Windows operating system, advancements in technology, and how all of it has transformed our lives and brought many of us closer than we ever thought possible.

But let’s be honest, it’s really a love-hate relationship we have with our desktops, laptops, netbooks and the rest. Why? Because like everything else human-based on the planet, the Windows operating system (aging XP probably is what most of us use to run our older PCs) is deeply flawed.

Not news you say? Sorry, you can click away but you can't hide from this corporate juggernaut and here's why.

It’s dreaded news every time Microsoft releases a security patch that forces us to make some really tough decisions. Should we allow the automatic update download and run the risk of it slowing or crashing our systems, or should we just simply ignore the old 800-pound gorilla Bill Gates fed and nurtured as a rising billionaire?

Reluctantly, you're probably better off downloading yet another patch from the Redmond, Wash.-based corporation. Ignoring security fixes really can have some unintentional but serious consequences, especially if you depend on your computer for business purposes. When was the last time you backed up your key client or customer files? Right, been meaning to get to it.

Dick Eastman, the driving force behind Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter, recently explored the double-edged sword known as Microsoft, in particular the publicly-traded corporation's Internet Explorer browser (Version 8 now available for download). Eastman has considerable expertise in genealogy and computers – his experience with the latter spans more than 30 years.

“I have poked fun before at Microsoft's many security problems with Internet Explorer but this one is hilarious,'' Eastman says. "Microsoft has now issued a security advisory stating that pressing the F1 key on older versions of Windows systems running Internet Explorer can create huge problems. Hackers could use the vulnerability to take control of a user's system. The attack could come from a Web page, an HTML e-mail or an e-mail attachment, as long as Internet Explorer is used to display the file,” Eastman says.

The flaw has been found in systems running Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003, according to Eastman. “Microsoft says the issue is tied to the way that Visual Basic Scripting, or VBScript -- which is used for executing functions found in Web pages -- is linked with Windows Help files.

“In the case of an attack, a victim using Windows 2000, XP, or Server 2003 would only need to visit a malicious Web site where a dialog box would be presented, enticing users to press their F1 key,’’ Eastman says. “Once the key is pressed, the system is hijacked and malware is installed on the computer.”

As Eastman notes, the problem exists only in older versions of Internet Explorer on Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. If you’re using one of these, you best be advised to visit Microsoft’s Web site and click on the menu for the proper security fixes.

Still, it’s not just MS security fixes were griping about at We Mean Business. There have been three major “service packs” for Windows XP and even downloading those presumably worthwhile upgrades have proved troublesome.

For example, many users of older computers (circa 2004-05) using Windows XP Service Pack 2 suffered total system meltdowns when they attempted to download Microsoft’s Service Pack 3.

It all came down to a few missing “drivers,” but that was never clearly explained beforehand. The “blue screen of death” gained many new victims when Service Pack 3 made the rounds, and the computer repair guys (yes, even the Geeks and Nerds) smiled all the way to the banks. Clean wipes were the order of the day (no backup? too bad, time to start fresh).

So what’s an intermediate-level PC user to do?

Educate yourself on what’s being downloaded automatically, especially if it looks vast, say four or five updates in one package. Take the time to visit Microsoft’s Web site and then decide if the update makes sense for you and your system. Weigh the risks versus the advantages.

Finally, don’t blindly download anything, even from Microsoft!

As for me, I practice what I preach at writenowworks.com.