Can we sue Microsoft for writing years of horrible code?

Home
Topics
Application and Platform Security
Software Development Methodology
Can we sue Microsoft for writing years of horrible code?

Can we sue Microsoft for writing years of horrible code?

Can we sue Microsoft for writing years of horrible code and for causing many of the today's infosec headaches?

Requires Free Membership to View

Login

SearchSecurity.com members gain immediate and unlimited access to breaking industry news, virus alerts, new hacker threats, highly focused security newsletters, and more -- all at no cost. Join me on SearchSecurity.com today!

Michael S. Mimoso, Editorial Director

By submitting your registration information to SearchSecurity.com you agree to receive email communications from TechTarget and TechTarget partners. We encourage you to read our Privacy Policy which contains important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Your use of SearchSecurity.com is governed by our Terms of Use. You may contact us at webmaster@TechTarget.com.

During the years, as Microsoft has distributed what you call 'horrible code,' it has done so by contract. A user always has to agree to a Microsoft contract before installing or using Mircosoft products. The user is not forced to use Microsoft; there are and always have been alternatives. But when the user decides to use a Microsoft product and voluntarily elects to enter the Microsoft contract, the user agrees that Microsoft's liability is limited. Hence the ability of the user to sue Microsoft for poor quality is slim, and I don't see the law changing on that point any time soon.

For more info on this topic, visit these SearchSecurity.com resources:

Featured Topic: Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Initiative

Dig Deeper

People who read this also read...

Related glossary terms

Terms for Whatis.com - the technology online dictionary

Show me more

This was first published in May 2004

More from Related TechTarget Sites

Security Channel
Cloud Security
SMB Security
Financial Security
Security UK
Security AU
Security IN

Security Channel
- Survey results: VARs report customers’ IT spending 2012 expectations
  
  VARs expect customers to increase spending on security more than any other IT area in 2012. See which security segments will grow the most.
- Create a computer security blog to attract and retain customers
  
  Blogging can produce new leads for security solution providers. Focus on content in your computer security blog that connects with customers.
- Penetration testing tutorial: Guidance for effective pen tests
  
  This penetration testing tutorial contains essential tips to help solution providers uncover vulnerabilities in clients’ networks.
Cloud Security
- Are cloud providers HIPAA business associates?
  
  Deciding whether your cloud provider is a business associate comes down to a judgment call based on the type of cloud usage.
- SaaS security: Weighing SaaS encryption options
  
  A look at SaaS encryption techniques and challenges.
- Panel debates cloud computing governance issues
  
  Problems with data governance in the cloud aren’t much different than traditional outsourcing.
searchMidmarketSecurity
- Windows Phone 7 security: Assessing WP7 security features
  
  Windows Phone 7 security features are proving to be a mixed bag. Sam Cattle assesses the enterprise security pros and cons of the latest Windows mobile platform.
- Choosing the best security certifications for your career
  
  Whether starting your career or planning your next step as an IT security professional, this tip will guide you toward the best certifications for your interests and experience.
- Midmarket security tutorials
  
  SearchMidmarketSecurity.com’s tutorials offer IT professionals in-depth lessons and technical advice on the hottest topics in the midmarket IT security industry. Through our tutorials we seek to provide site members with the foundational knowledge needed to deal with the increasingly challenging job of keeping their organizations secure.
searchFinancialSecurity
- Web application threats: What you really need to know
  
  In this special presentation, Mike Rothman details today's top Web application threats and pragmatic methods to integrate security into the Web application development process.
- Ramnit worm variant now dangerous banking malware
  
  The Ramnit worm now supports man-in-the-middle attacks, giving cybercriminals the ability to drain a victim’s bank account.
- SIEM vendors make the case for extending SIEM product capabilities
  
  Advanced features can reduce the threat of wire fraud. New rule sets can be shared among banks and credit unions.
Security UK
- Study finds attacks slip past spotty patch management policies
  
  A study finds attackers targeting firms with poor patch management policies, exploiting vulnerabilities that should have been patched years ago.
- Survey: Types of DDoS attacks on the rise due to hacktivist groups
  
  New DDoS statistics suggest hactivist groups are to blame for an increase in the number and types of DDoS attacks across the Internet.
- Web application vulnerability statistics show security losing ground
  
  New Web application vulnerability statistics show the number of vulnerabilities is rising, despite the use of Web application development frameworks.
searchSecurityAU
- AISA launches new website
  
  With a reinvigorated look and feel, improved back-end infrastructure, and regularly updated information about the association the Australian Information Security Association website has been re-launched for the benefit of its members and the Australian IT Security industry.
- Cisco hardening guides for IOS, IOS-XR and NX-OS devices
  
  Patching routing and switching infrastructure in any organisation is often delayed, sometimes due to the potential impact on production systems and sometimes because the IT resources are simply too busy fighting fires.
- Cloud providers and data sovereignty issues
  
  Australian cloud provider Ninefold warn that understanding who has legal access to company and personal private data is not as simple as checking a box and selecting the 'in-country' option.
Information Security
- Airtel’s DLP technology rollout makes data egress a thing of the past
  
  Airtel’s DLP technology implementation, India’s largest, went live in December 2010. Join us in exploring its inner workings, even as it is poised for bigger things.
- February 2012 Patch Tuesday to address 21 vulnerabilities
  
  Microsoft plans to fix coding errors in Internet Explorer, .NET Silverlight and Microsoft Office.
- Android app security offers IT little comfort, despite Google Bouncer
  
  Google’s new Bouncer tool aims to relieve some IT woes by scanning Android Market apps for malware. But Android app security concerns remain.

All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2000 - 2012, TechTarget