Source code for Microsoft Windows leaked

[Dover]

Source code for Microsoft Windows leaked

AP

February 13, 2004

SEATTLE Microsoft Corp. says incomplete portions of the source code for some versions of its Windows computer operating system were leaked over the Internet, but analysts caution it’s too early to say how much damage the leak may cause.

Spokesman Tom Pilla said the pieces of source code, the tightly guarded blueprint of its dominant computer operating system, were for Microsoft’s Windows 2000 and Windows NT4.0 operating systems.

Access to the source code could allow hackers to exploit the operating system and attack machines running some versions of Windows. Several versions of the operating system, including the ones containing leaked code, are used on hundreds of millions of computers worldwide.

Such access also could provide a competitive edge to Microsoft rivals, which would gain a much better understanding of the inner workings of the company’s technology.

Microsoft was made aware of the leak Thursday and was investigating, Pilla said. He did not know how much of the code had been leaked, when the leak occurred or how many people might have gained access to it. The company could not immediately pinpoint the source of the leak and has contacted law enforcement authorities, he said.

....cont'd

http://www.iht.com/articles/129482.html

The International Herald Tribune | www.iht.com

[JailForBush]

1. So what's the bad news?

I sure wish one of these stunts would crush Microsoft.

[RC]

2. Yeah, and?

What's the difference if you get the code off the internet or buy it from M$ on one of their CD's?

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LifeDuringWartime]

4. we'll find out about

all of the security holes they haven't told us about.

[sendero]

5. Source code...

... is the readable set of instructions that a programmer enters. What you get when you buy Windows is object code, a bunch of numbers that can be deciphered, but only with huge difficulty.

On the other hand - my wife believes, and on thinking about it I agree, that portions of the source code have probably been available to virus writers for a long time. It makes writing malicious hacks a lot easier.

[Atlant]

6. Open systems have essentially proven that these claims are untrue...

> Access to the source code could allow hackers to exploit the operating
> system and attack machines running some versions of Windows.

Open systems have essentially proven that these claims are untrue
of systems that were designed correctly from the start. Of course,
for Microsoft, that conditional clause is also their doom.


> Such access also could provide a competitive edge to Microsoft rivals,
> which would gain a much better understanding of the inner workings of
> the company’s technology.

The source code is far more likely to provide lots of laughs to folks
who actually care about the quality of Operating System internal code.
But it also depends on exactly what was revealed. The Win/NT kernel was
written by a team that actually understood operating system design and
is probably pretty good code. It's the Swiss Cheese that's wrapped
around the NT kernel that's laughable.

Atlant

[trogdor]

7. Reminds me of a webtoon I used to follow.

One week-long thread had the long-haired geek getting an advance copy of XP's source code emailed to him from a friend. He started looking at it and ran across a line of code that read something like:

bool toggleBugs=1;

which he reset to zero and had the most reliable OS in the universe. Right about then, the M$FT goon squad busted in and carried him away to Bill Gates' secret lair where he was forced to explain himself.