Ambitious Hackers

[m80]

An interesting article, even if no surprise.
'Serious cyber-attack' on Austrian government


The world is interconnected, and due to that the risk of these attacks must become more likely. So is the answer for companies to create their own independant, larger scale, intranet? Or maybe companies will spring up offering 'the promise' of secure international connectivity, if that doesn't exist already.

Not for the first time I've a laptop behind me that has been disabled due to a failed update, that I had no flippin' say in accepting. The thing decided that it must do as Microsoft dictated and that was the last time I could use it.
We are (well not me as I don't use MB main agents servicing) taking our mo mo's into MB for a service, and as we don't own the rights of the software in 'our' vehicles, 'they' perform and update without any consideration of the customer.
Who are we to argue that something is wrong due to this afterward? What if a hacker decides to corrupt the update/s for a later blackmail?

There have been forecasts that us mere 'umans will become ruled by machines. Worse than that we actually encourage it. Watch the dependancy of the others down't pub who can't converse w/o a machine, are in panic if their machine packs up, or simply goes flat. Drivers are so dependant they will chance their, and others, lives to use these machines in transit. Pedestrians will prioritise replying to a text over avoiding a moving car.

Methinks the worlds dependancy on these faster thinking bits of kit has gone too far. As is often we (they) don't lay safe and secure foundations first.

Boeing 737 'Max', or boing boing if you prefer.
Banks continually fall over.
The NHS have suffered, even the HMRC sent out loads of our dosh not due in 2014.

Surely the answer is to pull back from such dependancy.

 

[Scooby_Doo]

Oooh - the end of the world is nigh !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[markjay]

You can set your software update preference whichever way you like. That's the case for both Windows and MacOS. You don't have to set the computer to update automatically.

In fact most enterprise customers use an internal system called WSUS (or other system) to only install those updates they want, and when they want it.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

With respect, im not sure you fully understand what the point of updates and their uses are. You have written this on a device which will have had 1000s of updates which inturn will have had security holes closed.

For the most part most software or OS's are created as safe as possibly known at the time they are released. 'Hackers' ethical or not scour the code looking for holes to exploit, thus an update is required. The complexity of systems mean there will always be vulnerabilities.

By holding off updating software you are making your systems vulnerable, and incompatible with everything else as it will be left behind.

We are a good 30 years past the point where we cannot rely on machines anymore. Would you really want to go back if you could? no. for better or worse, machines have made our lives far better than ever before.

 

[190]

Not for the first time I've a laptop behind me that has been disabled due to a failed update, that I had no flippin' say in accepting. The thing decided that it must do as Microsoft dictated and that was the last time I could use it.

The simple way to keep Microsoft updates at bay is to set your wired and wireless connections to "metered" That will stop all but essential security updates. Microsoft seem to play fair with "essential" as I get very few updates. I've been doing this for years originally because I didn't have hard drive space but I have carried on just to keep a clean and fast operating system.

If adopting this practice be aware you have to set each and every connection to metered otherwise when you make a new wireless connection Microsoft will sneak a download in.