Did Microsoft Go Too Far with Vista Security?

For years, computer industry pundits bashed Microsoft for not making their products secure enough. The company has responded, and built new and stronger security mechanisms into each successive version of the operating system and other software. Windows XP was far more secure than Windows 9x/2000, and now Windows Vista is much more secure than XP.

Has this quieted the chorus of critics? Not really. Instead, it has merely changed their tune. Now we read on a regular basis allegations that Microsoft has gone “too far” with security in Vista and IE 7. I guess there’s just no pleasing some people.

This topic came up recently on an MVP chat in which I participated. My premise is that security and accessibility will always exist on opposite ends of a continuum, sort of like darkness and light. The more you have of one, the less you have of the other. After all, the very point of security is to limit accessibility.

Some folks disagree. It’s like saying “I want to turn out all the lights – but I don’t want it to be dark.” Wanting is one thing, but getting is quite another. There will always be some inconvenience involved in making a computer – or a home or office building – more secure. That inconvenience can sometimes be made less apparent to the user, however there will still be less accessibility when there’s more security.

Source: VistaNews

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