Bill Gates must be livid. Just after he publishes an e-mail letter to customers outlining Microsoft's progress on its Trustworthy Computing initiative, the SQL Slammer worm--376 bytes of code also known as Sapphire, w32.SQLexp.worm, and Helkern--exploits known vulnerabilities in Microsoft SQL 2000 servers. It creates a global Internet slowdown and another embarrassment for the chairman of the world's most powerful software company. And to top it off, Microsoft's own servers were Slammed.
With more than $40 billion stashed away, waiting for a good use besides providing a dividend for shareholders, Microsoft should use a small amount of those cash reserves to pay customers for the cost of testing and installing patches that address specific vulnerabilities. You don't pay to have your car repaired when a manufacturing defect is found.
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