Democratic Underground - One partial solution: revert to original state.

Reply #66: One partial solution: revert to original state. [View All]

sofa king

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Thu Aug-04-11 07:16 PM
Response to Original message

66. One partial solution: revert to original state.

Public terminals often are set up to time out and then revert to their original state, no matter what data is exchanged during a user session. Users are free to download from the terminal, but if they don't that data is destroyed shortly thereafter when the system goes back to its original setup.

That effectively neutralizes a lot of OS and browser-level attacks, because the malicious code usually cannot survive the re-write (or re-set, or do-over, or whatever you guys call it). I'm sure there's a zillion ways around it, and it's just as easy to grab as any other OS of its ilk for a limited time, but I'm told such an approach has been pretty successful overall.

I wonder if it would be possible to force an OS to almost constantly revert to its original state, while keeping a persistent environment and data storage somewhere else, like those clouds you Aristophanes fans keep crowing about. That, at least, might prevent ignorant-ass users like me from getting their systems owned so easily.

Oh, wait. Isn't that more or less what smart phones already do?

Never mind.

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-Computer science: why are computer operating systems built to be so vulnerable	txlibdem	Jul-30-11 02:55 PM	#0
- you have the right idea. start a company and sell great stuff :-) nt	msongs	Jul-30-11 02:59 PM	#1
- lol	Cronus Protagonist	Jul-30-11 03:00 PM	#2
- Easter eggs!	napoleon_in_rags	Jul-30-11 03:01 PM	#3
- Try a Linux live CD and then come back to us...	ProgressiveProfessor	Jul-30-11 03:32 PM	#8
- I use Ubuntu Linux	napoleon_in_rags	Jul-30-11 03:48 PM	#10
- Have you tried a Live (bootable) CD approach	ProgressiveProfessor	Jul-30-11 03:58 PM	#11
- Good suggestion	txlibdem	Jul-30-11 04:17 PM	#12
- Yes I have...They are also a god send if something screws up.	napoleon_in_rags	Jul-30-11 04:20 PM	#13
- Money	itsrobert	Jul-30-11 03:01 PM	#4
- It's a balance between security and usability, I'm pretty sure.	MineralMan	Jul-30-11 03:02 PM	#5
- Too much automation, too many cool bells and whistles	slackmaster	Jul-30-11 03:03 PM	#6
- You might want to start with understanding the concepts behind Von Neuman architecture	ProgressiveProfessor	Jul-30-11 03:31 PM	#7
- Not locked up like an iPhone, that's been hacked already ;-)	txlibdem	Jul-30-11 05:02 PM	#14
- If everything was built into the operating system...	Speck Tater	Jul-30-11 06:45 PM	#16
- You didn't read the last paragraph of my post	txlibdem	Jul-30-11 07:53 PM	#17
- hehe. And the cure to cancer is to just take out the cancerous cells.	Speck Tater	Jul-30-11 08:26 PM	#18
- A design that's more than vague generalities	txlibdem	Jul-31-11 07:05 AM	#20
- This reminds me of something...	Speck Tater	Jul-31-11 11:23 AM	#22
- Your post shows zero intent to hold an honest discussion on the topic	txlibdem	Jul-31-11 04:07 PM	#23
- Perhaps you should look up what an operating system is	muriel_volestrangler	Jul-31-11 04:37 PM	#26
- Perhaps you should look up what an Operating System should not be	txlibdem	Jul-31-11 04:52 PM	#28
- No, really, it would help if you read something about the basics of computing	muriel_volestrangler	Jul-31-11 05:11 PM	#30
- Muriel, please go back and read post #7. It most assuredly DOES NOT agree with you.	txlibdem	Jul-31-11 10:50 PM	#34
- OK, let's look at post #7:	muriel_volestrangler	Aug-01-11 04:39 AM	#35
- Memory failure on my part, sorry. I meant post #14, which is my reply to post #7	txlibdem	Aug-01-11 07:47 AM	#36
- Pointing out that programs people use are not part of the OS is not 'childish'	muriel_volestrangler	Aug-01-11 11:43 AM	#40
- Your ridiculous "do you want to help the Russian mafia? Huh? Huh?" question is a strawman.	txlibdem	Aug-01-11 03:54 PM	#42
- It's the last paragraph of #14 that is the problem with your idea	muriel_volestrangler	Aug-01-11 04:49 PM	#44
- My, oh my. You are trying sooo hard to be obtuse	txlibdem	Aug-01-11 05:56 PM	#46
- You're wrong. You are way out of your depth	muriel_volestrangler	Aug-01-11 07:21 PM	#49
- About 20 years ago I taught a freshman class in software engineering at Cal State Univ.	Speck Tater	Aug-01-11 08:51 PM	#51
- I've had teachers like you who think you know everything and no other thoughts are possible...	txlibdem	Aug-01-11 10:24 PM	#53
- Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha	Speck Tater	Aug-02-11 12:22 AM	#54
- Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha	Speck Tater	Aug-02-11 12:24 AM	#55
- Gawd, I wish we could have had an intelligent discussion on this topic	txlibdem	Aug-02-11 06:46 AM	#56
- Here, this is all you really needed:	trotsky	Aug-03-11 12:58 PM	#59
- If you say I haven't hit a nerve then I'll take your word for it...	txlibdem	Aug-01-11 09:51 PM	#52
- Before we can discuss the problem we need to agree on the cause of the problem.	Speck Tater	Jul-31-11 07:31 PM	#32
- Sheesh! So now you won't even admit that the problem is systematic	txlibdem	Aug-01-11 08:13 AM	#37
- It ain't what you don't know, it's what you think you know that ain't so. I give up. nt	Speck Tater	Aug-01-11 10:09 AM	#39
- I agree: it's like talking to a stone wall	txlibdem	Aug-01-11 04:04 PM	#43
- One final remark...	Speck Tater	Aug-01-11 05:21 PM	#45
- See post #4. ITSROBERT nailed it: M.O.N.E.Y.	txlibdem	Aug-01-11 06:04 PM	#47
- You win/ You're smarter than me. I bow to your superior wisdom an insight. nt	Speck Tater	Aug-01-11 08:44 PM	#50
- You gave it the ol college try. backslap	sudopod	Aug-18-11 02:20 PM	#86
- You gave it the ol college try. backslap	sudopod	Aug-18-11 02:20 PM	#87
- If there are no upgrades	Confusious	Aug-02-11 10:24 PM	#57
- You seem to know a lot about software updates. Pray tell, what are the majority of updates for?	txlibdem	Aug-03-11 08:26 AM	#58
- One big flaw in your idea there	Confusious	Aug-04-11 12:51 PM	#61
- That's a strawman argument if ever I heard one	txlibdem	Aug-04-11 04:42 PM	#62
- It's a secret conspiracy.	laconicsax	Aug-04-11 05:07 PM	#63
- Thanks for the comedy relief!	txlibdem	Aug-04-11 05:40 PM	#64
- After reviewing some of your posts	Confusious	Aug-04-11 08:36 PM	#67
- Repeating the argument from Spec Tater in post #18, see post #20.	txlibdem	Aug-05-11 08:36 PM	#68
- I can see that you are clearly management material. nt	sudopod	Aug-18-11 02:13 PM	#85
- That's a good analogy.	bananas	Jul-31-11 04:23 PM	#25
- Deleted sub-thread	Name removed	Jul-31-11 04:40 PM	#27
- I'll be more blunt.	Occulus	Jul-30-11 10:18 PM	#19
- You are joking, right? What is your point, exactly.	txlibdem	Jul-31-11 07:09 AM	#21
- No, Don't stop.	Ready4Change	Jul-31-11 06:00 PM	#31
- Thank you for the encouraging words	txlibdem	Aug-01-11 08:39 AM	#38
- That's another good analogy	bananas	Aug-06-11 05:49 PM	#71
- Amen	caraher	Aug-07-11 07:01 AM	#73
- Logical systems cannot be "airtight" in the way that one might imagine	txlibdem	Aug-09-11 09:24 AM	#75
- Are you familiar with Goedel's Theorem?	caraher	Aug-09-11 12:24 PM	#76
- Everybody's got a theory that removes blame for their failure or lack of vision	txlibdem	Aug-09-11 04:04 PM	#78
- Now there's a very interesting analogy - Creationists say evolution is "just a theory"	bananas	Aug-17-11 12:29 AM	#84
- Let me ask a question...	caraher	Aug-09-11 12:59 PM	#77
- I've answered your question, posed by another poster, not into infinite repitition	txlibdem	Aug-09-11 04:22 PM	#79
- The difficulty is pure logic	caraher	Aug-10-11 09:24 PM	#80
- Using your analogy, you are the climate denier	txlibdem	Aug-10-11 10:05 PM	#81
- "the CEO, the VP(s) and Department Heads...where the rules of a program or OS are set"	muriel_volestrangler	Aug-20-11 06:42 AM	#88
- That's not called an "operating system", it's called an "appliance".	bananas	Jul-31-11 10:01 PM	#33
- I recall a certain multi-billionaire who said the computer needs to evolve into an appliance	txlibdem	Aug-01-11 02:34 PM	#41
- As a retired software engineer, that idea just can't work.	Speck Tater	Jul-30-11 03:32 PM	#9
- See my reply to post #7, hate to type all that out again	txlibdem	Jul-30-11 05:05 PM	#15
- Microsoft tried that with Windows NT	bananas	Jul-31-11 04:21 PM	#24
- I was surprised ...	Nihil	Aug-12-11 08:24 AM	#82
- I liked VMS	caraher	Aug-12-11 12:56 PM	#83
- Gray zones.	Ready4Change	Jul-31-11 05:10 PM	#29
- That's kinda my point	txlibdem	Aug-01-11 06:19 PM	#48
- This thread is great!	laconicsax	Aug-03-11 02:21 PM	#60
- :-)	txlibdem	Aug-04-11 05:44 PM	#65
- One partial solution: revert to original state.	sofa king	Aug-04-11 07:16 PM	#66
- expandability is the reason, and as someone who	Riftaxe	Aug-05-11 11:39 PM	#69
- I don't disagree	txlibdem	Aug-06-11 10:14 AM	#70
- Run linux Live CD..... you cannot corrupt what you cannot write to, on the other hand	HysteryDiagnosis	Aug-06-11 05:55 PM	#72
- You can still get a virus	bananas	Aug-07-11 08:22 AM	#74
- As someone who has used Windoze for 18 years and Linux distros on and off for 7 years...	steve2470	Aug-20-11 09:11 AM	#89

Reply #66: One partial solution: revert to original state. [View All]