In three months, Microsoft users will finally reap benefits from the company's new focus on security. The release of the second major update to Windows XP answers many long-standing design criticisms of its operating system.
But this was not a pain-free learning exercise. Indeed, Microsoft paid a steep price in the coin of user dissatisfaction--and in some cases, lasting mistrust. In September 2001, the Nimda worm spread throughout networks worldwide, leading corporate customers--including many financial firms--to chastise Microsoft for failing to plug vulnerabilities in its code. Two years later, the MSBlast worm and a variant of the program infected Windows computers and corporate networks, once again bringing consumer and corporate wrath on the Redmond, Wash.-based company.
News source: C|Net News.com
