Despite the large number of security patches aimed at Windows XP users that mainly istall them without too much thinking, administrators are something completely different as they have much more to account for. Skoudis said: "Sysadmins continue to be skeptical and worried about the implications of the latest patches. A wholesome, useful patch may have unintended consequences, disabling important applications. Such concerns have and will continue to slow down patch deployment on the server. I was actually happy to see Microsoft's announcement regarding regular monthly patch release days. This will help us all schedule patch testing and deployment into our work processes, smoothing the process. In short, 2004 is going to be rough, but I expect to see some level of improvement on the patching issue."

It's all about trust

One of the widest security discussions this year was certainly focused around the Microsoft Trustworthy Computing initiative. Some were praising it while others like Russ Cooper weren't that happy about it and back in February he said that, in his opinion, the initiative was failing.

Ten months later I was curious to hear what Cooper thought on the subject. He said: "At this point I will give Microsoft a "D" for 2003's efforts. The "Protect Your PC" effort is a very good start at outreach to the consumer community. I feel there are more and better things they should do, such as free upgrades for everyone with a licensed copy of a Windows OS to Windows XP, availability of a Windows Update CD at convenient locations such as Wal-Mart, and modifications to how the OS is configured by default."


Does anyone notice Microsoft's efforts?

Despite constant negative reports on Microsoft security, in March the SANS Institute awarded Microsoft for their security efforts. Many people truly believe that Microsoft is trying to improve while others say it's all just marketing. Microsoft seems to be trying as they setup courses that teach secure coding in several universities worldwide. The questions is - are things getting better?

Skoudis said: "Steering the giant ship that is Microsoft toward more security is an arduous task. I did a back-of-the-envelope calculation a while back, and determined that Microsoft is currently supporting more than a billion lines of code across its entire product line. That's an ocean of potential problems, and it's understandable and unfortunate that it's going to take some time to secure it all. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not a Microsoft apologist. I slam them when they deserve it. That said, we have to admit and understand the magnitude of their challenge."