[Thinkpad] Re: Windows security the minimalist approach

> From: "STeve Andre'"
> Subject: Re: [Thinkpad] Re: [OT] Free Windows Security Update CD
>
> On Thursday 19 February 2004 09:10 pm, Andrew in Ann Arbor wrote:
>>Based on my experience with WIN98 Lite service packs are not required if
>>you remove the vulnerable components completely.>
>
> Andrew: *You need them*. Never, never ever think that you
> can know what is inside the beast of Windows, and can get
> around whatever problems you want to deal with.
> While you can move
> things around, you don't really know what you're doing. Not
> really.

While I don't claim to understand the inner workings of the OS I can
report what works for me.
In August I installed the 800 Mb solid state drive in my 560x and used
the lite PC installer from <www.litePC.com> to install the minimal
"micro" Win98.
Since then the computer has been on more or less continuously (I was
having trouble with suspend so now I just shut down the display and the
"disk") connected to my cable modem through a Linksys wireless router.
I haven't had any anti virus software installed until a few days ago
when I installed and ran Bazooka and Norton Systemworks AV (virus defs
updated to 2/18/04).
The results were, neither program found anything.
Could the Linksys cable router be helping?
Perhaps my ISP (comcast) is filtering out all the malware?
Maybe I'm just insanely lucky.
Initially I had gone with the minimal "micro" installation to save
"disk" space but I have to think that 6 months connected to a cable
modem with no problems is pretty respectable performance

>
> So it is with Windows. SP4 contains 1,486 files that I could
> identify, covering all the problems from SP3 for what, about
> a year? To say that you don't need them is a really dangeruous
> thing. I'm now encountering problems with machines where I
> applied patches that are in SP4 but which I applied as they
> came out.

My position is that I don't need significant portions of the OS itself
(my WIN98 directory is 221 Mb).
Once you've made that statement it's easy to say I don't need the
service packs.
I actually don't think I could install the service packs if I wanted to.
Not only would I need to re-install many things I left out of the
original install (like Internet explorer) but I'd then have to find the
"disk" space for the updates.

> At this point I have
> no evidence to suggest that for clients, service packs
> should not be applied.

If your clients have the full Windows installation
then keeping up with the service packs is your only option.
My approach only works for the stripped down install.
The fewer the DLLs, the less there is to go wrong.....

-- 
Andrew in Ann Arbor (Cyber Luddite)
technology is the answer, what was the question?
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