Print - Microsoft's Secret Plan to Secure the PC

You've heard of Trustworthy Computing, and the massive corporate remodeling going on at Microsoft where every developer, product manager, and executive assistant has been asked to rethink everything they do in the context of security. Well, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Secretly, the company has been working on a plan to rearchitect the PC from the ground up, to address the security, privacy, and intellectual property theft issues that dog the industry today. Inexplicably, the company pulled an Apple and chose to detail its plans solely to Newsweek, so we only have that one report to work from. But if Newsweek's take on the plan is correct, and consumers and businesses buy into the new devices that would result, the PC landscape will soon change forever.

The plan is code-named Palladium, a reference to a statue of the Greek goddess Athena that one guarded ancient Troy from attack. Palladium involves a number of hardware and software solutions that will, in part, be implemented as part of a future Windows version--possibly Longhorn, due in 2004--that requires specific hardware to work. "This isn't just about solving problems, but expanding new realms of possibilities in the way people live and work with computers," says product manager Mario Juarez.

Microsoft designed Palladium around the following ideals:

Palladium will tell you who you're dealing with online, and what they're doing. It will uniquely identify you to your PC and can limit what arrives (and runs on) that computer. Information that comes in from the Internet will be verified before you can access it.
Palladium protects information using encryption to seal data so that "snoops and thieves are thwarted." The system can maintain document integrity so that documents can't be altered without your knowledge.
Palladium stops viruses and worms. The system won't run unauthorized programs, preventing viruses from trashing your system.
Palladium stops spam. Spam will be stopped before it even hits your email inbox. Unsolicited mail that you might actually want to receive will be allowed through if it has credentials that meet your user-defined standards.
Palladium safeguards privacy. In addition to the system's ability to seal data on your PC, Palladium can also seal data sent across the Internet using software agents that ensure the data reaches only the proper people. Newsweek reports that the agent has been nicknamed "My Man," a goof on ".NET My Services," "My Documents," and other similar names at Microsoft.
Palladium controls information after it's sent from your PC. Using Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology, Palladium can be used to securely distribute music, movies, and other intellectual property securely over the Internet. Movie studios and the recording industry could use this technology to let their customers exercise their fair use rights to copy audio CDs and movies, for example. "It's a funny thing," says Bill Gates. "We came at this thinking about music, but then we realized that e-mail and documents were far more interesting domains." Gates says that Palladium could ensure that email designated as private could not be forwarded or copied to other people, for example. Or, the Newsweek reports reads, "you could create Word documents that could be read only in the next week. In all cases, it would be the user, not Microsoft, who sets these policies."

Few of the concepts behind Palladium are new, but what makes this system unique and--dare I say it--innovative is Microsoft's ability to rally the industry around this technology and push it through to fruition. Leading chip vendors Intel and AMD have signed on to Palladium, though Intel was originally reluctant to join. And though no names are yet available, major Microsoft partners in financial services, health care and government--areas where security is a prime concern--have likely signed up already as well. "I have a hard time imagining that businesses wouldn't want this," says Microsoft Group Vice President Jim Allchin. Once the enterprise is locked in, Microsoft expects Palladium-compatible applications and services to arrive, thus kicking off the inevitable consumer-oriented push.

However, the success of Palladium isn't a given at all. The anti-Microsoft crowd is louder than ever these days, thanks to the company's drawn-out antitrust battle and mounting security concerns. And Palladium would arguably extend Microsoft's OS dominance even further, since it's a Windows-only technology. Microsoft counters this criticism by explaining that Palladium can be ported to other platforms easily enough. "We don't blink at the thought of putting Palladium on your Palm, on the telephone, on your wristwatch," says Palladium software architect Brian Willman. Presumably, Linux and Mac ports would also be considered.

And how will individuals react to news that their every move will be recorded and analyzed? As the shifting security landscape in the post-9/11 world has proven, people are more resilient to such change if the perceived security level is higher. And though a vocal minority will likely find much to complain about--think Slashdot--average consumers, IT administrators and decision makers, and other people responsible for actually paying for this technology will probably support it wholeheartedly. I can already imagine the sort of email responses this article will get--after all, "Microsoft security" is an oxymoron of sorts these days--but I also can feel a grudging inevitability to Palladium, or something like it. Hang on to your seats, folks. Your next PC upgrade may be a completely different beast altogether.

This is an interesting article. Link at MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.com/news/770511.asp Link at Slashdot: http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/02/06/23/1641205.shtml?tid=109 If you see "It's a funny thing," be careful what it is about. I wonder if people would buy a piece of hardware that implements this security scheme. (Will people have a choice?) Will people say, sorry, If this DVD, or CD or program will only run on Windows or MS hardware, I won't buy it? They probably will, as long as they have a choice. What happens for independent developers that work on Windows, will they be able to compile programs and run them on their own and customers machine? or should they need to call MS to get a permit to run their programs? Hypothetical scenario???: 12:01am: Hi, I just modified my program and I need to a new permit granted to continue debugging ... ok ok, you got one but only for your machine until 6am, if you do not get the program running by then call us and we happily will give you another permit. --- In order to prevent unauthorize runs of software on my machine, I am careful of what I run and allow to run on my machine. I avoid running programs that I am certain about as root. I check for setuid. It is all in there on the thrusty old UNIX and its cousin Linux.

So, if they really care about our privacy and the likes, why not better promote digital IDs (to sign/encrypt e-mail messages)? And why is their "preferred" provider (VeriSign) one which charges money for the same thing others (Thawte) don't? For more info see http://office.microsoft.com/assistance/2000/certpage.aspx and get your certificate today if you haven't already :-D

How is this different then the telephone company calling us seven days a week to sell us long distance who then turn around and sell us a service to prevent themselves and other solicitors from calling you in the first place? So the people who have given us poor software development and nonexistent testing are offering us a product to protect us from their nonfeasance (one could argue malfeasance)? "We are sorry, Trustworthy Computing isn't so Trustworthy. But trust us on this one...".

I find it sad these days that people take no initiative to keep their computers safe, or even learn about them beyond email and web browsing. Most security issues can be avoided by simply using common sense like Bill Clinton didn't send you an email with an attachment saying "I Love You", or maybe I shouldn't give my bank account number to that guy who has 25 million in an Argentine bank and wants to share. Before if you got a floppy disk that had a virus the worst that could happen was your machine could go TU. But now in the internet age that virus or trojan you get could shut down a corporate email server, or DDOS attack someone. Of course people are happy to shift the burden of learning simple security and common sense computing to Microsoft because they have never had the opportunity to learn it. Surely their 5 page maunal that came with their computer told them easy ways to avoid problems, or maybe not because most of those 5 pages were Microsoft's EULA agreement. It's a dream at best but what if people actually took an interest in learning about the computer that they use every day, or going one step further what if Microsoft produced a usable manual to educate users. Nah too expensive, let's keep dumbing down Americans so soon we have a population of automaton computer users who believe that Microsoft actually cares about end users. MS might even get them to believe that Office XP is a much more feature rich version than Office 2000 and is worth the upgrade. What a joke.

It appears that Microsoft in its "Trustworty Computing" initiative has determined that it cannot produce a stable, secure OS. Therefore, the only way they can have a secure OS is to push the responsibility of security onto the hardware.

"The plan is code-named Palladium, a reference to a statue of the Greek goddess Athena that once guarded ancient Troy from attack." Paul, if you're going to try and give the background to the story, you should finish the story, that the statue of Athena was ultimately stolen and Troy was completely destroyed.

I've been in the computer business for almost 8 years and Microsoft has never been safe. One is bound to hear about security patches every few months. It's pretty scary when one has to download security patches more often and regularly than changing ones oil. While there is some truth to the argument that car and Windows comparison, (you know, the one about if cars were made like Windows, one would blow up almost everytime it's started...), is not accurate, but to me, it's pretty darn close. Palladium does nothing but help track people's usage on the computer. Why? First, Microsoft is carrying such a big target on its back that any new technology that it comes up with, an equally talented and dedicated, if not more talented and dedicated, "team" of hackers would do anything they can to break in. Then, what is Microsoft going to come up with next? Operation Blue Screen so NO ONE can use the computer? But wait, that happens everyday already. Secondly, let's assume that Palladium does work for the brief period of time before the dawn of the hackers, do you really want people to know who you send email to? I mean, I am almost positive that after Palladium rolls out, someone is going to figure out a way to keep track of the email address because, now, it's that much easier with the Palladium machines.

This reminds me too much of Senator Hollings' (D-Disney) CBDTPA, only now it's coming from Redmond. Has Microsoft become a branch of the US Govt?

Palladium and the Wild West Internet mentality: http://worldtechtribune.com/worldtechtribune/asparticles/buzz/bz06282002.asp “Regardless of what some self-appointed libertarian Internet watchdogs and privacy advocates will try to say, the citizens living in the nineteenth century are nowhere close to being as 'free' as those fortunate enough to be alive now. The privacy advocates are right about Microsoft’s vision of Palladium; it is a technology that wants to turn the Internet from lawless Wild West into an orderly suburban neighborhood. You know, gated communities much like those hypocritical privacy advocates live in.”

Interesting, but the article says nothing about MONEY. Of course we don't know yet how Microsoft will license this technology, but we know who will finally pay for it. Far more important, though, is the issue of the free (meaning shared) Internet. I guess that Palladium will contain a framework for paid services. After all, that's far more important to business than security.

Anytime a new product (software or hardware) comes on the market, there is a hack, crack or, backdoor. Nothing will ever be as secure as our "mom" (instead of Big Brother) would like it to be.

sorry guardian software does all that is described and more and it works with any o/s out of the box. and its all software based no hardware needed. funny must be why microsoft offered to meet with our company to buy our technology. ours will be out a year before theirs so we shall see. and ours will be $40

This is where it all starts. Eventually we will only be able to run programs Microsoft approves of and they will be able to do what they please on our hard drives, "Woh Bill Gates doesn't approve of that software - DELETE", and for people like me who are programmers there is another fear, Microsoft used to have to look people in the eye while they were plunging a dagger into their backs, now if Microsoft decides they could use something I am working on, they will just help themselves, they really like using peoples software but not paying for it, they are the true pirates, ask Sun about Java, they preach about people paying for things and refuse to do it themselves. Everytime you start your pc everything on it will have to be verified as being permissible to run in Microsofts eye. These are the horror situations I have been hearing, I swear to God if Windows goes this way, I am getting a mac and installing linux on all my windows machines, if Mac & linux go that route, i'll dig out my Amiga machines and use them and play new games on my ps/2 , x-box, gamecube & my old consoles as well, dreamcast, ps1, n64, snes, genesis, amigacd32, saturn... Etc etc(yes I am a console junkie hehe), I can so live without a win pc if it means I will feel somewhat safe in my own home, it's the same thing as someone breaking into my house and installing hidden cameras everywhere, but more insideous, as I don't need to get authorization to take a s@*t from Microsoft, but in a few years I probably will. Sorry for the hideous grammar and spelling and implied swearing, but i am extremely passionate about this, plus I've been up for about 43 hours programming. I'd like the hear a balanced view of the situation,thanks, Lance Lange "No matter where you go, there you are. Just make sure you had Microsofts permission to be there, or get your *&^ deleted" Editor's note: This is fascinating treatise on the future. Did you get this information by actually traveling through time, or are you a Microsoft employee surrepticiously using a Hotmail email account? I'm just curious. :) --Paul

The myth of portability is once again a propaganda used by microsoft to proliferate their proprietary technology. If you are a software enginneer/programmer, you'll know that the limits of software portability is not just a technical issue ( which can be quite acute ) but alot a licensing red tape. Case: Look at the Mac OS X platform for example, MS has always kept their own Mac software a level below the Windows equivalent ( IE, Office X, WMP ) Infact, they have gone to the extent to strategically leave out Outlook (Exchange interoperability), made IE incredibly slow and WMP unworkable. If you look at the .Net platform, though they claim that applications written to the .Net spec can be used on all platforms, the do not point out that the .Net implementation on Mac and Linux are limited to the Common Language Runtime. the fronend ASP.Net and WinForms are again strategically left out. The funny thing is that analysts/journalists advocating the MS platform are always telling MS competitors to move out of the hardware business and start a software business model. A Merill Lynch analyst once said that Apple would be better off making software for windows and hardware that used Intel chip that could run Windows. Similarly, the so called analyst has been calling for nintendo to stop making hardware and start making software for the Xbox ala Sega. Unfortunately, what most analyst fail to (or conveniently chosen not to) point out is that Licensing is the key issue. Licenses and proprietary lockout (through Palladium, .Net, High MAT and other private APIs a la in IE) provides a barrier to entry for competing technology. The strategy has always been licensing! Thats how companies control ther rights of their competition and make profit. So for apple to start developing for Windows software would not only weaken their current position, but they will be faced with a limbo situation whereby they have no core market and nowhere to turn to as the gates of MS have locked them out. Similarly, if Nintendo, or for that matter Palm, move out of the hardware business and started developing exclusively for MS, they'll be in a weaker situation and would loose the control of the platform they now have. they'll soon end up like Sega, waiting to be bought by a large conglomerate. I think all this rant about how competitor should embrace MS reflects just the typical envy that MS has for its competitors due to its inability and incompetance to innovate despite its wealth and size.

I don't know about the rest of the world, but I do NOT want Palladium to succeed. It's bad enough that Microsoft holds such a monopoly on the computer market that one tiny flaw cripples the Internet for the rest of us, but now we have to deal with these "trusted" computers locking EVERYONE into their OS. Paul Thurrott is a Microsoft puppet, and is NOT the person you need to listen to regarding this technology. He moves from bashing Mac OS X on his "Win Super Site" to downplaying the user-level lockin from Palladium by a "Post 9/11" comment. The absolute truth is that competing OS's already have 90% of the features that Longhorn/Palladium is going to magically implement, and in order to shut out these competing, although superior, operating systems, Microsoft came up with the Palladium concept. Lock the user in at the HARDWARE level and you can guarantee that they'll never be able to run another OS other than yours. If this succeeds, it will be the end of user choice period. We'll all just have to sit and wait until the next huge flaw comes up that takes down the entire infrastructure of the 'net before anything is done about it.

It appears Microsoft has thrown in the towel in trying to secure it's OS, so it's dictating the hardware builders to do it for them. In other words, Microsofts OS's are defective and they have intention of fixing those defects.because they can't. This is criminal.

How is "TC" going to deal with true virii? Would it have stopped MSBlast? How about those annoying pop-up ads? Will I only be getting them from Microsoft and the companies that pay the fee to allow them on my computer? If "TC" will allow the consortia to enable signed partners to allow pop-ups, how would I then sign up to STOP them? WOuld I then have to pay the same amount as their partners to stop pop-ups? When today I can stop 99% of them with a third party application. And most of the pop-ups that get through my thrid party application are the ones from Microsoft and it's subsidiaries. So why should I have to pay in the future for something I am getting today. From a program I legally bought. One thing I feel that people need to realize is that corporations are NOT America. They should NOT have the same rights and priviledges that an average citizen should have. And they surely should NOT HAVE MORE. By allowing this consortia to determine what I can and cannot install on my computer would basically be an invasion of my personal property. There are so many little things I could point out that would mean much to me. I paid for my computer, just like I paid for my microwave or my refridgerator. The device is mine, not the maunfacturer's. The software is mine as soon as I purchase it(legally). This "TC" will put entirely too much control and priviledges into the consortia's hands. A consortia that will undoubtedly have no qualms about selling personal information, nothing done yet has been able to stop my personal information being sold to just about anyone that wants to purchase it. When "TC" is brought completely online, damn near all of my habits will be viewable remotely by who? This consortia, the goevernment? Let's remember we still live in the United States, where privacy is a constitutional right given to it's CITIZEN's.

This is government/monoply control plan and simple. The veil of so-called "customer privacy protection" called Palladium is a two-wedged sword: i.e. You might control what goes out of your computer, but the government and Microsoft can control what goes IN it. For me, Windows XP was the last windows I ever used. Linux is the way to go from now on!!!!

Well, It's time to stop buying PC and start reading books as has always been for ages!. Personally I'll never buy any TCPA device nor Longhorn based PC ever!

They have got to be kidding. First off I can't believe that Intel and AMD are backing this. This is just another thing leading up to the consumer having no privacy, and too much power in the hands of either companies or the government. I for one will NEVER let this sort of "technology" get anywhere near mine, or my families PCs, and if they begin making it mandatory, there will be an uprising in the PC industry. If that be the case, im sure linux will be tried and true in allowing us choice in the PC market.

BIG BROTHER! This is disgusting, and I cannot believe more people will not switch to Apple where it has been SAFE to compute since the very beginning. I never worry about worms, viruses, anything, and MS doesn't have to watch my computer to make me SAFE. Bunch of NAZIS.

O_O? wierdos.. There are too many people ignorant, or apathetic of what is going on with this sort of thing at the moment becuase everyone wants to live a comfortable life. So we *will* be screwed sooner or later by large corperations that have more power through things like this, reducing by a large amount the will, and the actual means to be able to develop new varients of products. It would be nice if this sort of thing wouldn't happen due to public outcry, but not enough people really care right now. A free source community is 'probably' best for the culture most people seem to believe we have (but don't) and this will effectivly tone down the incentive to contribute to the free source community. Won't make it any easier on the people who try to help others for no profit.. that just seems a bit 'odd' to myself here..

The article is very informative. However, if the Palladium does what it says it does, I doubt it will be a success. Very few people want that kinda of restriction put onto them or their pcs.

More Of The Man- sounds like serious information control. My Computer, My Information, I Control it, not palladium - sounds nasty.

It doesnt matter that people want it or not. The fact of the matter is that we are so passive, as Americans, that even when the proverbial poop does hit the fan, we will do nothing but complain. After we grow bored of that, our politicians will begin to tell us that it makes us safer and then we will mouth their words not realizing that we are screwing ourselves in the end. Once all of the glimmer is gone and we start to gain a real knowledge of what this technology does, we will become passive to it all-together. The argument that people will not allow such an intrusion into our personal space is follied. In this society, want and allow are two very different acts, often at odds with eachother.

My only concern is the fact we are, as consumers, exspected to upgrade everytime Microsoft puts out a new version of it's OS. I for one do want security but not at the cost of a new motherboard, Intel or AMD security chips, and no real understanding of why this is needed. Previously I jumped on the upgrade bandwagon only to relaize the net gain was negative both to my productivity and to my bank ballance.

George Orwell's '1984' should have been titled '2004'. Shades of BIG BROTHER!! Palladium appears to be the death knell of the Information Superhighway, free speech, and free access to knowledge. Yes, knowledge is power and Mr. Gates & Co. are making sure they are THE power and they will make us pay for it. Where, oh, where is the red-short, blonde woman athlete??? We need a hammer thrower again! Editor's note: I didn't realize 1984 was opt-in. :) Paul

Yes I agree, This palladium this is dangerous! If i am going to be monitored by a huge corporation even more so, then i will move to LINUX! Enough with monitoring and protecting, all they want is to CONTROL you and your activities, which should remain PRIVATE! Linux will become more popular after this is released, many will feel uneasy about MS controlling what is run on your computer.

This is bad. DRM makes Microsoft in control of your stuff. It is not really open source. They claim it will be, but all of the security stuff is not. And they control it and if you lock up a program you need MS ok before you can access it again. THIS WILL NOT STOP VIRUSES AND WORMS AND SPAM. THEY LIE TO YOU SO YOU GET IT.

Im liking the security aspect,but its still letting microsoft know way to much about where i go and what i download or do on the net,and if they're designing the encryption,guess who has access to the keys!

really impressive site giving ..most indept view of the future of operating system that is LONGHORN

I believe that TC using hardware chips is the best way to fight piracy and probably security too, but no way would I want to have some company spying on my machine whenever its on!

Ladies and Gentlemen: Many companies are just waiting for Intel, Microsoft AMD to make this type of move. Just as AMD moved in on Intel and drove the prices down. So will other chip manufacturers. It may take them a while (one or two years) to catch up. But when they do, the big three will no longer be able to cash in on us. And to think, I was a Bill Gates supporter when Netscape went after him, I suppose hind sight is 20/20! Bill, is it your time to go back in front of Congress?

AND.... how many of you are on window xp systems saying u will never stand for palladium........ THE FUTURE IS INEVITABLE... usa has already picked up on this mindset.. GET DOWN OR LAY DOWN.. u in or out.. with us or against us.. yea linux will b fine... but when mass public sees features of new system a linux based system isnt gonna seem good...... take the fuel wars we are having now... why not push for better power effiecncy.. THERE ARE ALOT OF PROBLEMS OUT THERE AND NOONE CARES.. THIS SEEMS MINOR WHEN THIS COULD BE THE BIGGEST AND MOST PERSONAL.. beware you have been warned Editor's note: Take the blue pill, bud. Paul

I think people should read more about this Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) security environment before people jump into conclusions. If you want to read more about it then go to http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/news/ngscb.mspx

Letting Microsoft control your computer right down to the very hardware is like letting Hitler control Europe: it's not gonna work. I'll stay with Win98, and if MS doesn't like it, tough. I am not going to let a giant corporation control what will and will not run on my PC.

allyourdataarebelongtous, windows 98 is on its way to destruction. windows 98 is very unstable, as well as unatractive and supports much less programs. Windows 98 should die. And about palladium, I think It'll bring a whole lot more security to the OS than in previous runtime environments. I mean, you gotta love a built in spam killer.

baklava, win98 maybe be unstable but if win98 and TP technology were the choices I had, I'd have to say I'd go with windows 98. The Truth is no one likes the idea of something or someone restricting what you should or should not do. Even if I had bought everything the 'legal' way I can't do jack all with them if everyone else there aren't. Other words, MS or this TP technology need to DOMINATE this world's technology before that's ever going to happen and let's face it, computer technology is a very important part of our lives this era. And Alien, NGSCB is MS's revised Palladium ;) obviously they couldn't steal the name of a company with same principles so they had to come up with something else lol. Regardless of all the negative points, if we were to put TP tech. into good use EVERYONE would love it, disable those stupid functions that has a lock on everything and let's just target it on certain areas of 'security'. For example internet and porn, oh how those two words tingle in my ears. Maybe then the numbers of minors viewing porn may be decreased even if its impossible to stop, it's an improvement. Stopping Piracy would be nice but don't LOCK us into YOUR Program MS. You HAVE the technology to simply block out piracy but why go a step further. With out a doubt people will think you guys are the next hitlers. I mean if MS does get this thing working, and that its SOOOOO secure, secrurity software companies GONE, competing software companies GONE, freeware GONE and... oh wait I think that's all a computer does... so pretty much we won't even call it Computers anymore... we'd be calling it Micrsofts... then hypothetically bill gate's son comes along, creates his own company, rips his fathers company off and came out with a thing called Hitler which eventually takes over Microsoft and the world. Do better MS, perhaps terrorist attacks won't be on countries next time, they'll probably target YOU for depriving them of their own 'cyberworld'

when i consider real innovation in computing, i think of true pioneers - i think of the people who added value to the machine. i think of eckhart & mauchley, engelbart, hopper, cerf, sutherland, torvalds, berners lee, kay, nelson and others too numerous to mention (apols!), and i am inspired by the daring originality of their thought. most of all, i think of a culture they helped create, one that is rich in the innovation which arises from the pursuit of knowledge and the sharing of ideas. many of these heroes of our field made no money from intellectual property in their innovations, but they added true usability to computing. and they had one most important property in common: honour. i have yet to see this from microsoft. as an academic lecturing in networked media, i read a lot of material: i would recommend people take a look at work in the area of "trusted" computing by ross anderson, who is a security professor at cambridge university computer science (http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/). a lot of very concise thinking; something which redmond lacks. but, please do go read what redmond says as well in the interests of fairness (link in madmoked's post above). in passing, i consider it the height of poor form for an editor to comment, in a sarcastic manner, about invited posts by guests about this topic. you might like to take notice of the general reaction to the proposed microsoft "tc" platform, rather than defend the microsoft line so blindly. why? because some of us program for reasons other than money. some of us program because we love it, and it helps others to live well. we are rightly worried that someone might attempt to pervert our hope for a better, more communicative future, simply to earn cash and wield power. and if you think i'm on the red and blue pills, paul, please do go read engelbart's seminal papers on intellect augmentation (http://www.bootstrap.org/augdocs/friedewald030402/augmentinghumanintellect/ahi62index.html) before you use your microsoft mouse again... and think about how much money engelbart made from inventing that mouse. that's right. deliberately nothing. long live true freedom. Editor's note: True freedom is the ability to make money from an idea if you so choose, or give it away for free if that's your thing. I suspect you don't work for free. --Paul

I think that Microsoft added the "spam protection" and the other stuff (i doubt it will work) just to distract us from it's true goal TAKE OVER! This is just another form of communism. Editor's note: Sometimes people just make sense. This is not one of those times. --Paul

Microsoft and it's government/business partners are clearly the new Fascism their marketing strategy is to control every computer and every user everywhere To hell with freedom .. To hell with free enterprise.. To hell with Competition. To hell with the Constitution . pc users.. wake up ! Resist This NOW !

Palladium is dangerous. Buying an OS that Microsoft controls but that makes you think you have control of it. I am not going to let Microsoft or Palladium control what goes on on my computer. Microsoft is going to the dump. I will stay with my Mac OS X. You are enirely inexorable to your computer. I mean think Palladium is really not going to change anything to help you. You are limited to your computer becuase everything has to be executed through a "trusted system" on Palladium's own decision not yours. And truth is that it is not going to be anymore secure than what 98, ME, XP users already have. Read this: Bruce Schneier, CTO of security consultants Counterpane Internet Security said: "My fear is that Pd (Palladium) will lead us down a road where our computers are no longer our computers, but are instead owned by a variety of factions and companies all looking for a piece of our wallet. To the extent that Pd facilitates that reality, it's bad for society. I don't mind companies selling, renting or licensing things to me, but the loss of power, reach and flexibility of the computer is too great a price to pay." He also says, "Pay attention to the antitrust angle. I guarantee you that Pd (Palladium) is a way to extend its (Microsoft) market share, not to increase competition." On the positive said he also said: "Like everything else Microsoft produces, Pd Palladium) will have security holes large enough to drive a truck through. Lots of them. And the ones that are in hardware will be much harder to fix. Be sure to separate the Microsoft PR hype about the promise of Pd from the actual reality of Pd 1.0,"

thank you microsoft! thanks for Making Another Operating System So We Can Pay U All Of Our Money - i'll move to Apple's MAC OS X at the first occassion i get. Editor's note: LOL. And then you'll upgrade at $129 a year for the rest of your life. Good move. --Paul

JEEZ THE RESPONSES TO THIS THREAD ARE AMAZING... WHY ARE PPL SO AGAINST MS? THEY BROUGHT US A LOT MORE THAN PPL APPRECIATE. I DONT MIND MS KNOWING EVERYTHING I DO. WHAT I DO REALLY HATE, IS GETTING ALL THIS ADVERTISING I DIDNT ASK FOR, FROM COMPANIES I DONT KNOW (MUCH LESS, CARE) ABOUT. BIG BROTHER IS EXACTLY THAT. HE IS NOT THE BULLY DOWN THE STREET. You've been ZAPPED by R3GiMentMan...

This whole thing about Palladium and Longhorn is driving users nuts, and i am one of those, because first, computer security and internet stuff will never be as secure as before, only if some "ones" can have it private, and that is not going to happen, i mean, like the way it was before. Palladium will be kind of a nice subject, but, like always, and as some friend here said, Microsoft has not talked about MONEY YET!, and DRM is expensive, if it is or it will be the way they're assuming with Palladium. Like always, Hackers will be there to do stuff, those are the genious, not Microsoft trying to get our money day by day, and actually that's all what whe've got to do. Indeed, we all use Windows and Mic's products, and we love them, so what is this all about, if soon r later, we will end up buying Longhorn (which i swear wont be as low as $299, the way Windows XP was when it first came out.) and likely, we will end up believing all that about "Palladium" and "Longhorn" and OS future. We don't have a choice but keep working ourselves to enffort computing protection. I just hope it comes like that and not just another "Trustworty Computing Big Lie".

pallidium inst about security, get a clue, it is about control over content on your computer by the large corporations that provide digital media, hardware, and software products. go tomthis site to get a heads up of what is going on already...http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/tcpa-faq.html moondookie

MS has no right to limit what I can and can't do. I agree it is wrong to use pirated software, but the decision to have illegal software on my pc isn't Microsoft's decision to make. If i am willing to take the risk of getting caught I should be free to do so. Think, what if instead of saying "murder is illegal" the governemt said you can only use your hands for these tasks. You can only eat and write, if you come up with something new and ingenuitive to do we have to supress that because we didn't say you can do it. IT's anti-democracy and anti-rights. They can only tell us what not to do. When they begin defining what we can do and using a whitelist we become bound to them like prisoners to a wall. Palladium is nice for corporations maybe. Let those corporations use it. It can't be fair for them to limit my productivity in the name of better security. My PC is secure enough, thanks to anti-virus software, firewalls etc. If a couple of pieces of spam email is all i must put up with to maintain some amount of freedom I'll take it.

The internet is a platform for freedom of expression, and it is about to be crushed because Microsoft is too inept to create a safe OS...this will be the end of Microsoft...I am typing this from a three year old Apple which has NEVER had any problems with viruses or crashing or anything- then there's my pc, which runs like a slug and requires 50% of my time just for maintnence. However, I still use my pc more because of all of the open-source software and the like...

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Google ????? ?????? ?????????. ???????????, ??? ??? ?????? ????? ??????????????? ???????????? ???????????, ? ?? ????????? ?????? ?????? ???????????? ?????? ????????? ? ??? ??????? ??????????? ???????. ?????? ??? ?????? ? ?????? ?????????? ?????????, ??? ???????? ?????? ???????? ????? ??????? ?????????. ?????? ????? ????? ????????, ??? ???????? Google ? ????????? ????? ????????? ? ??????? ????????, ?????? ? ????????? ??????? ??? ?? ????????? ????????? ???? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ?????. ?????????? ????? ?????????, ??? ? ??????? ?????????? ????? ??????? "?? ? ?? ????", ????????, ???????????, ??????????????? ??????????? ??? ???????????? ????????????. ???? Google ?????? ????????? ???????? ????? ???????????, ??? ????? ???????? ?? ????, ??? ??? ????? ?????. ? ??? ????? ????? ????????? ??? ? ??????????? ??????? ?????, ??????? ?????? ? ???????? ?????? ?? ??????????? ?????????? ???????? - ??????? ???????, ?????? ?? ????? ???????????? ???? ???????????. ?????? ????? ????? ?????? - ????????, ??? ????? ????????? Google ????? ???????????? ?????????? ? ??? ???? ???? ?????????? ? ??????????? ?????, ?, ??? ????????, ???, ??? ??????? ???????????, ??? ??????? ? ?????. ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ?????????? ??????? ??????? ???? ??????????, ? ???????? ??????????, ??????? ??? ?????? ????????? ??? ????? ? ????????? ????????, ?????? ?????????? ???. ?????? ? ???, ????????, ?? ????? ????????. ???? ??? ?????? ???????? ? ????????? ????? ??????????, ?????? ??? ??? - ????? ???? ???????? ????????. ????????? ??????, ??????? ????? ?? ?????????, ???? ??????? ????????? ?? ????? ????? - ?????? ?? ????????? ?????? ??????????? Google, ????? ????????? ???????? ??????? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ?????, ????? ?????? ??????????? ????????, ?????? ?? ??????????????? ??????? ? ????????? ????? ? ???????????? Google ?? ????? 100000 ???????????, ???????????? ? ?????? ???????. ????? ??????????, ??? ??? ????? ??????? ???????????? ??????? ? ????, ? ????? ?????? ??????????? ?? ?????? ??, ??????? ????????? ????? ???????? ??? ???????, ?? ? ????? ??????? ????????? ??????? ?? ???????????. ??? ??????? ???????????, ??? ????? ????? ????? ???? ???????????? ??? ???? ? ???????, ??? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ? Google ???????? ????, ??????? ????? ?????????? ?????????????? ? ??????? ?????????????? ?????????? ? ?????? ???????? ????????? ?????????. ????? ???????, ?????????? ????????, ??? Google ?????? ?????????????? ????????, ?? ????? ???? ???????? ?????? ??? ?????????? ?? ?? ???? - ?????????????? ?????????????? ???????????? ? ?????? ????????????? ?????? ? ???????????? ???????? ?????????? ?????????? ? ??? ????????????, ??????? ????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ?????????? ??? ????? ????????????. ????????? ?????? Google ?? ?????? ???????? ??????????, ??? ???????? ?????????? ? ???, ? ????? ????????? ? ????????, ? ???, ? ??? ?? ?????? ? ??? ?? ?????. ??? ?? ????????????? ????, ??????? ?????? ?? ?? ????, ? ?? ?????, ? ??????? ????? ???????????? ??? ?????????? ? ??????? ?????????????? ?????????? ? ???????? ??????????????? Google. ????????, ?????? Google ??????????? ????????? ?????????????? ??????, ? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ???????? ? ???????? - ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ??????????? (???? ? ?? ??????? ???????? ??? ??????? ???????????? ??????) ?????????? ??????? ?????????, ???????? ????????????? ?????. ? ???????? ????????? ???????????? ????????? 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I feel so nausious I think I might go vomit. Vomit at Microsoft and, while I'm at it, vomit at you, Paul. As Adam P said (fantastic post), shame on you for the sarcastic Editor's Notes. But I digress. I hope living in the confines of the Miscrosoft empire gives you a nice warm sense of satisfaction. If you are too blind to see where this technology is headed, then you very much deserve the world you'll be living in because of it. It's not for you I weep, I am saddened at the thought of all the other people who will be unknowingly dragged into such an oppressive world because of it. However, what really sickens me is that, yes, I am writing this post from a Windows XP desktop (albeit with Firefox at least...). Contrary to what you probably think that means, the reason this sickens me to the bowels, is not inherintly because it's a Microsoft product, but because of the consumer lock-in that's already present, even now. I didn't purchase Wondows XP for any reason except that it was required by my business for compatibility. It wasn't for features, it wasn't for quality, and it certainly wasn't for security *derisive laugh*. I run plenty of Linux servers, and there's no reason why I wouldn't run a Linux desktop, save that one. However, after learning about this (and yes, I mean "learning", not simply regurgitating a Microsoft press release - as mentioned before, this is a good place to start: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/rja14/tcpa-faq.html), Windows XP will be the very last Windows platform I ever use. I will surely miss the gaming... Here's the real clincher though: I'm only an 18 year old student. Sometimes I wonder how it is people like you end up with their own column. It certainly wasn't enlightening by any stretch of the imagination. Marli www.marlistuff.com (Anonymous because I will not register with this site)

Personally it grates me everytime i have to see one of those crappy Microsh**e ads on the TV, "we're inspired to create software that helps you achieve your goals" Makes me sick. Perhaps I ought to point out i was a stubborn linux supporter who would never buy a microsh**e product, but then I bought my new PC because it was so reasonably priced, and along comes XP with it, which i am now impressed with, but tbh id rather have built it myself, and put redhat linux on it, just because i quite like that distro for everyday use. For anyone who wants to consider trying linux with no risk, i recommend KNOPPIX - http://www.knopper.net/ which is an iso image you burn to cd. put it in your drive at boot time and it boots knoppix up. when you shutdown there is no permanent changes Linux has many features windows has, plus more, for which id rather sacrifice a tiny bit of ease of use. it takes 10 minutes to learn and a lifetime to enjoy the extra functionality. Oh and it even looks nicer ;p I will not even allow another microsoft operating system onto my pc past XP, and service Pack 2 will not make it onto my pc after already wrecking one of my pcs. Good luck Jameth

I think you all are retarded. If you don't like the ideas Microsoft has, then why own it in the first place? Why don't you stop complaining about it constantly, and switch over to something more secure? Oh wait, I forgot. People absolutely HAVE to have something to ***** about

I actually live in the matrix http://matrix-at.org/ Multistate Anti-TeRrorism Information EXchange They keeping databases full of info on us to profile people... http://www.phillymobile.com

If I may ask, what exactly is the huge problem with Microsoft having any kind of access to file information? You act as though Microsoft is going to scan your computer's files and try to destroy you. The only reason I can think of that most of you would be whining about Microsoft "looking over your shoulder" is if you were interested in using LH for technically illegal activities (e.g. pirating music, movies, software, etc.). For users like myself, who purchase their software at full price and use only mp3 files that I have ripped from CD's that I actually own, I think LH will be a great step forward. I cannot be the only person who uses computers in that manner. If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to be afraid of with the advent of Palladium. I am not by any means some kind of "newbie" in the world of computers, so do not try to label me as such. I am merely making a point. You naysayers really should try joining us legitimate users. The water's fine.

These many comments speak for themselves, don´t they ? The people do not want this BULLSHIT ! Do it and you will go down ! After all, linux is free (as in money and in speech) !

It doesn't totally surprise me that Microsoft would do something like this. They are already like the largest technology company in the world... how does that saying go.."people with power want nothing but more power?" Anyway it was inevitible. The ironic thing about this country is that they say we are free and have our rights to privacy. When it comes to technology, this country is practically run by it. It becomes a second government in a manner of speaking. The irony comes in when you realize that technology is a field of free design, hence leading to things like Palladium and the such. There isn't really anything governing the rights of people with technology and the Internet. Eventually it almost seems like we will need a seperate president or congress just to handle technology and computing issues. The sad thing is, this government will probably be run by Microsoft. To sum this up, lets all use Linux and move to Canada.