Bill Gates designed a monolithic kludge that cannot be maintained or made secure. So is the problem that we did not have a licensing system in place at the time to keep Bill Gates out of the profession?

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Steve Stites

I wonder IF ReactOS (NT clone ...) could run those apps. Wine?

edit: sorry, didn't intend that.

Anything but Windows, that's like wearing a "PLEASE HACK ME!" sign on your back!

One other problem I can foresee if the NHS uses Linux for end users is not having MS Office to use. I've tried Libre Office, Google docs, and other free office software, even MS office online but nothing beats good old MS Office for power users.

A workaround could be each PC running a virtual machine with Windows on it so MS Office could be used? But you need powerful computers to handle all this...

i see these people working in healthcare using these computers.
more often than not, they're slooooow...
but my sympathies go out to those responsible of managing them.
in a big company, you don't want to do something like that every year. you don't even want to do it every 5 or 10 years.
you buy office furniture to last decades, but the computers have to be replaced constantly.
and not just one computer, no, hundreds. some of them probably tied to extremely expensive equipment.
i can understand that they want to go on using win XP to be able to continue using outdated hardware.

that said, i still consider it highly irresponsible.

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There are success stories of whole public instutions changing to linux, as well as companies.
of course it's hard.
but not as hard as it was when they started introducing personal computers in the first place.

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why though???
what's wrong with FOSS from russia? ever use MKV (matroska video)?
you got some prejudice here you want to share?
any ideas how many LQ members and FLOSS developers come from russia?
IMO you are that close (pinches 2 fingers together) to a reportable incident of posting problematic/harrassment content.

Macs run MS Office... or you can have Windows desktops behind a strict firewall with only UNIX/Linux machines exposed to the Internet.

Actually, Windows is not "intrinsically insecure." No less than OS/X or Linux. (In fact, in many ways more secure (or at least, "securable") than either of them. )

The thing that we're not paying attention to right now is who it is that we give access to the machines. Who programs them, installs software on them, and so on. Today, businesses simply look for "the cheapest labor-cost available anywhere on the planet." But those people, smiling as they are in their proper business suits, just might be your mortal enemy – and, because you have placed no restrictions and no controls over who is allowed to practice this profession ... unlike what you did, say, for low-voltage lighting contractors and landscape architects – you have no idea what the situation really is.

(The US Department of Defense even out-sourced the process of issuing security clearances and hiring contractors!)

And so, you live with "billion-dollar 'leaks,'" a national security apparatus that is Swiss cheese, identity theft ... and you haven't seen but a glimpse of it (yet). You think you're "saving money" by hiring someone from Bangladore who will work for minimum wage, doesn't have a car, for whom you don't have to pay (in the US), Social Security or Medicare, and who you can throw-back in two years. You simply haven't put two and two together ... yet.

Britain is wisely removing itself from the European Union so that it can once again have control of its own borders, immigration, and other employment practices. But it might have come too late for NHS.

Call me a Luddite, but no one, here or in the press, seems to have given thought to the danger, once again so readily visible here, of over reliance and trust on automation and technology. If the NHS had never started using an electronic health record, no one would have been endangered. For an industry that prides itself on evidence-based outcomes, the medical industrial complex has adopted EHRs without any evidence of safety or efficacy. In the US, that was by presidential decree (GW Bush), and enjoys bipartisan support in Congress.

Similarly, we have cars whose brakes are not actually brakes (pressing the pedal informs the computer to apply the brakes), car windows without mechanical releases, airplanes that fly "by wire" and any number of other examples of over reliance on technology without any fail safe. Saying that we need more certification of IT, or a better OS, is more over reliance on technology to solve the problem of over reliance on technology.

Witch hunts to blame the guilty, whoever you think that is: Microsoft, medical staff, NHS directors, etc., while predictable, will not solve the problem either.

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that is scary, in a very tangible way.
maybe because i only ever drove old cars, and things like brakes tend to not break suddenly, but deteriorate over some time, and you can feel that in your foot when you apply.

I told them, when they were putting in their new systems in doctors surgeries, that they should be using Linux or BSD, as Windows was so readily hackable, past exploits being the proof, but they were contracted to using Microsoft, there wasn't any leeway.

Now we can all see the error of their ways, but someone who knows nothing about computer systems has control over the budget - maybe this will wake 'the powers that be' up at last!

If they use the old computers as terminals to a more secure server system, that would surely reduce the risks, saving some money whilst securing the main systems data.

Initially I would say openSUSE Medical for desktops or SLED, and SUSE for servers.
https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Medical

Although it appears they may be moving towards a modified Ubuntu called NHSBuntu:
https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/node/161230

Exactly, that very subtle vibration or shudder.

That may be technically true, but at least Linux and the core of Mac OS X (Darwin) is open source, and problems usually are found and fixed long before they actually are exploited in the wild. With Windows, no one knows what's going on under the hood except for a select few at Microsoft.

N00B here. Since you are discussing wannacrypt randsomware can I slip in a question?
This last summer I dual booted two old Dell latitude laptops with win 7 into Linux Mint 18 sara Cinnamon and I'm loving the experience!

As a trial learning experience I also took a Dell Latitude laptop with Windows xp and dual booted Secure Puppy then finally with LM 18 Sara but used xfce because its such an old system. I like the idea of a dual boot as back up in case I really screw something up and I do not plan to go online with the Window xp side. Is this laptop still at risk? Can the wannacrypt malware recognize the xp 'port' or something and attack this laptop? Do threats migrate from one side to the other in a dual boot? If I only go online with linux mint side am I okay?

I have updated linux and windows 7 and use these laptops extensively. I could also just ditch the win XP/ LM 18 xfce laptop.

Since I have your attention. Is updating linux Mint 18 sara adequate or at some point should I just fresh install the next LM distribution. I think its serena??

I might be over thinking this but I am self taught so often discover i have odd gaps in knowledge. Also if this should be posted under newbie forum I will go there. I looked at security forum but no one was discussing this particular randsomware risk.

If you don't plan to connect XP to the internet, or mount dodgy USB sticks while using it, then you will be fine. If you do go online with XP, get it patched for the WannaCrypt emergency patch and take the usual security measures (including running CryptoPrevent).

You can upgrade from Mint 18 to 18.1 without reinstallation. Do backup your data beforehand though, just in case.