Microsoft OneCare not much of a firewall

Microsoft has made much of Windows OneCare, its new security bundle that includes, among other things, a firewall. It turns out, however, that in its default configuration OneCare's firewall is full of holes. According to InfoWorld's Roger Grimes, OneCare automatically permits all traffic from two types of programs: Any program using the Java Virtual Machine, and any program digitally signed. Microsoft has responded to the criticisms by saying that the JVM exception can be turned off (something that novice users will never, ever do), and that spyware is rarely signed. Concerning the latter, Grimes correctly points out that signed spyware is not unheard of and that when OneCare becomes the default security solution for many users, signed spyware will become the norm. While OneCare is still in beta and Microsoft could change the default settings for its final release, their responses (posted on Grimes' blog) don't really inspire optimism.

Tags: firewall, hole, java, jvm, microsoft, onecare, security, vulnerability, windows