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Darl McBride: The Linux Killer
 Tech’s most hated man |
Wonder why your computer is under almost constant attack by worms, Trojans and malicious code of all kinds? Meet Darl McBride (pictured to your right), the chief executive officer of the widely unpopular SCO Group. For most of the past year, hackers across the globe have set about to hijack computers (including yours) in order to launch a devastating web attack on SCO to physically and psychologically destroy the company. The MyDoom Trojan, in particular, was designed specifically to launch attacks on SCO and Microsoft (more on Microsoft in a moment).
Friends (as well as detractors) comment to McBride that in just two short years, he has displaced Bill Gates as the most hated man in high tech. It took Gates decades of hard work to achieve that distinction.
What has the son of a farmer, a devout Mormon, and the father of seven done to so swiftly earn the honour? In the past year, McBride has transformed SCO — the late 70s developer of the UNIX® operating system — into a legal missile aimed at the heart of the open source software movement. His strategy threatens to undo the progress of Linux and other free operating systems developed by programmers who believe that their selfless efforts have produced a free, robust and reliable operating system.
SCO claims it owns the intellectual property rights to the Unix operating system and that contributors to Linux — the free, open source operating system of the future, and the OS that many believe will transplant Windows in the not-too-distant future — have pilfered that code. Every Linux user, now and into the future, SCO has concluded, owes or will owe it money.
What does this mean to you? First, while at the moment, every three years, or so, most computer users are forced to purchase the latest iteration of Microsoft’s Windows OS — which is bloated with code, expensive and unstable — most techies believe that in the near future a free, lean, stable, widely available and consumer-friendly version of Linux will come onto the market, displacing Microsoft’s core software development business.
Second, because most open source programmers know that they have created Linux and that it is not based on Unix source code, and given that these programmers wish to preserve domain over Linux as a free and available operating system, for months now hackers and programmers worldwide have launched continuous attacks on SCO and Microsoft, compromising not only those two companies, but every computer user in the world whose computer system risks infection and hijacking, in order that our computers might be employed to launch concerted attacks …
“It seems to me that the battle isn’t really SCO versus IBM (a supporter of Linux), or SCO versus Linux,” McBride says. “I think there’s a war going on. The war is around the future of the operating system, and whether it’s going to be free or not.”
What do SCO and Microsoft have to do with one another? Earlier in the year, VanRamblings published an article on the ties between the two.
The Wired article on the SCO-Linux controversy is well worth reading.
Will XP’s Service Pack 2 Cause Chaos?
With the anticipated release of Windows Service Pack 2 just around the corner, the major changes Microsoft has made to Windows XP through the release of Service Pack 2 (SP2) will almost inevitably cause major headaches for most computer users.
In an article published on Monday, PC World’s Joris Evers suggests that the automatic SP2 download will create a raft of problems, from application breakdown (your programmes won’t work), to disruption of your network access (you won’t be able to get onto the ’Net), as well as misconfiguration problems with your computer’s operating system and ’Net access, arising from inappropriate responses to prompts by Windows XP. Yikes !!!
At the moment, Microsoft doesn’t know how it will deliver the required support to computer users experiencing major glitches with XP2. The company could establish a dedicated, toll-free support line. At present, in North America, Microsoft offers the (866) PCSAFETY support line for issues related to computer viruses; that line could be extended to cover SP2.
Otherwise, make sure you’re on very good terms with your techie friends. Chances are, you’re gonna need their help.
Question of the Week
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When I use Internet Explorer for Windows, I often get a message that says “Runtime Error has occurred. Do you wish to debug?” What does this mean, and is there a way to avoid it? — Submitted by: James S., Vancouver, B.C.
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An Internet Explorer runtime error — one that occurs when a programme is running — can be caused by several problems. Some older versions of the Internet Explorer browser will display the message if you try to open a Web page that contains an apostrophe in the title.
Runtime errors are frequently caused by a mistake in the programming for a script on a Web page.
Compared with early sites, today’s Web pages can be quite complex, with pop-up windows, animations and programming scripts designed to enhance your Web-browsing experience. With all of those bells and whistles, it is possible for a page’s author to make a programming mistake that goes unnoticed during testing. Typically it is only programmers who need to use the debug option in the error box.
Some types of spyware (particularly the subset known as adware), may be trying to open windows or run other types of scripts, and some of these programmes may be causing the runtime errors. If you have installed ‘pop up’ blocking software to cut down on distractions while you browse, the programme may be zapping the extra windows before the rest of the Web page’s intended script can run, thus causing the runtime error message.
You can adjust your settings so that you are not alerted every time the browser programme trips over some bad code. In Internet Explorer, go to the Tools menu, select Internet Options and click on the Advanced tab. Check the box next to “Disable script debugging,” uncheck the box next to “Display a notification about every script error” and click on O.K.
