Art Said:

>>>Avoid Microsoft ANYTHING, if possible.<<<

I DO NOT want to get into a pro/anti MS flame war here,
but...

In every case I know of regarding an MS vulnerability
(there have admittedly been many), the sequence of events
was as follows:

1.  A benevolent hacker or a security lab discovers a
problem and alerts MS and the press.
2.  MS immediately investigates and posts either a patch
or instructions on their update site or knowledge base -
usually very quickly.  Subscribers to their security
updates list receive an e-mail immediately.
3.  Some users apply the patches, most do not.
4.  Using the information provided in #1, malicious
hackers create a virus, trojan or worm that exploits the
vulnerability - usually months after it was discovered,
publicized and fixed.

While avoiding vulnerabilities is ideal, one can hardly
expect that millions of lines of code will be completely
bug free.  IMO it is a bit unfair to single out MS - every
other OS has been hacked over and over.

The solution is to keep up with the security alerts and
apply patches as they are released.  ...or I suppose you
could unplug your modem, remove your network card and run
DOS.

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