Service Pack Update
The inevitable "I told you so" post. As I expected it is now being reported, as the update is rolled out, just what a mess it can make of your perfectly working computer. Sure, you have to configure your firewall for different programs but this is really at the limit of the casual home user's ability. How do they know if svchost.exe should be allowed to access the internet or not? Wouldn't it have been better for Microsoft to configure the firewall automatically based on a hard disk scan of the users computer to at least minimise the head scratching? Particularly when a lot of the listed programs affected are Microsoft's own. Like I said, steer well clear for a few weeks.
posted by Ricky Dee at
8:25 PM
2 Comments:
My issue is with the average user. The ones that don't spend ages at the PC or will open an e-mail attachment cause that's what you do when you get attachments. How the hell do they understand what a firewall is? Open ports? Yet at the same time these same people want the pirate movies and albums and seem to have all heard of Kazaa and bittorrents.
Even worse, most pc's I've 'visited' or advised people about in the last couple of months have windows update switched off, no virus scanner, whats a firewall??????? and also loads of spyware. SP2 should make things a bit better but when the majority don't understand what windows update does, or why it takes so long to update, then it's easier to see why virus writers have an easy life. Microsoft are damned if they do - damned if they don't at the moment. SP2 is a step in the right direction compared with a barebones XP.
By
Ian, at 17 August 2004 19:36
I don't think the average user has heard of Kazaa or bittorrent. It's not fair of MS to release something that is supposed to protect the average user (and the rest of us from their infected machines) and leave them to configure a firewall. Look at the list (from MS) of software that changes behaviour or fails to work because a firewall has been switched on. Surely they could have configured it automatically so that most of these apps were allowed to access the internet.
I say again is it fair to fire up a pop-up and ask an average user if they want svchost.exe (or any obscure process) to access the internet? Most people will click "no" and then wonder why the net connection doesn't seem to work anymore. I think it has been very poorly thought out and implemented. Rather than spoon-feeding the world with automatic updates they would have been better educating users how to use the software and their hardware more responsibly.
Like you said most people don't know what a firewall is and after downloading SP2 they still won't.
By
Ricky Dee, at 17 August 2004 22:12
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