DISCLAIMER: This is a rant that exposes my personal views on a certain subject. These views are not to be constued as fact, and you are free to form your own opinions by utilizing the links I have provided.

We all remember a couple of weeks ago when a flaw was discovered in IE concerning SSL certificates. Microsoft informed the public that the flaw was actually in windows telling us the severity of its nature and the risk it posed was negligible. Now we all know that M$, the honorable corporation that it is, would never LIE to its adoring public. Why then, was the following statement made?

UPDATE Microsoft late Wednesday said that a flaw in its Windows operating system could allow hackers to gain unauthorized access to thousands of computers.

Microsoft issued a security alert, calling the flaw "critical." The flaw affects how more than a dozen Microsoft products, including programs for Windows and the Macintosh, handle digital certificates, which are used to certify the authenticity of a Web site or of software code.

The flaw could let a Web site with a valid certificate issue a second, invalid one, which could enable unauthorized access to a computer as well as, among other things, the theft of user passwords or credit card numbers.

"You're on my site and I say, 'Click here to go to Amazon.com.' But I don't really take you to Amazon.com. I can pretend to be Amazon.com and get you to enter in your credit card number," explained Gartner analyst John Pescatore.
Hmmmmm....is the TRUTH too much for we, the lowly consumers, to ask? I wonder how many people, during the period of time between the two statements, went ahead and made online transactions secure in the knowledge that all their credit card info was safe because M$ said it was. We have laws that protect us from faulty cars, infant seats and McDonalds 'Happy Meal' toys, but when it comes to software companies, we are simply screwed. No kiss, no roses, no dinner...just screwed and left laying prostate in the dust. Get ready folks...it's time that we took a stand and started harrassing our Representatives and Senators for the protection we deserve.

View the original story concerning the flaw here.

Then get the latest spin here.